S6:E3 | Logan Cole

Cedarville Stories

Five years ago tomorrow, on January 20, 2017, Logan Cole’s life changed forever.

Logan, who is a senior IT management major, was then a senior at West Liberty High School near Urbana, Ohio, about 40 miles north of Cedarville. On a school day where he was prepping for a mock trial, he headed to the restroom to check his hair. That’s when everything changed in an instant. As he came around the dividing wall between the restroom and hallway, he was shot in the chest and back by a classmate.

Logan fell to the ground immediately, breaking his front teeth. After the shooter blasted the shotgun in the adjacent hallway, without anyone being harmed, he returned to the restroom to reload. Logan pleaded with the shooter to get help and not to hurt anyone else. When the principal and assistant principal rushed into the bathroom, the shooter handed the gun over, and what could have been an even larger tragic school shooting came to a relatively quick conclusion.

Logan spent 15 days at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and endured multiple surgeries and three months in a neck brace. Nightmares disrupted his sleep in the first month following the shooting, and he still has roughly 200 bird shot pellets in his body, which require biannual checkups to determine the lead level in his body. But his mindset is good. He has occasional bouts of mild depression and being in a crowd can be difficult for him, but overall, he’s healthy spiritually, physically, and mentally. And he credits the Lord for his healing and recovery.

Logan testified at his assailant’s sentencing hearing and told his classmate that he forgave him. The shooter is now serving 23 ½ years in prison.

As remarkable as Logan’s survival has been, his faith and confidence in God during this devastating trial has been equally as inspiring. He and his principal and assistant principal have spoken in school districts that have experienced active shooter tragedies. Logan is grateful for the story he has to share.

“I think I was the right person for that situation because of what God has done for me and the experiences He’s given me,” he shares during the podcast. “I’ve been able to share my faith and how God helped me and my community get through that situation with people who are grieving. I look forward to using the story God has given me to help expand His kingdom and help people get through hard times.”
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Cedarville public relations first covered Logan’s story when he arrived here as a freshman.