Salvation Army major thankful to survive shooting
James Jones Jr. ‘never taking another day for granted.’
Maj. Malinda BARBERTON —
Jones of the Barberton Salvation Army was en route to a funeral in Cincinnati last December when she got a frantic call from her husband.
“I got shot!” Maj. James Jones Jr. told her in an unusually high-pitched voice.
“Stop playing,” his wife responded.
The line went dead. Panicked, Malinda Jones turned her car around and headed north.
She soon learned that her husband was one of three people shot in an argument that ended with gunfire in a West Akron barbershop. He was an innocent bystander, waiting to get his hair cut when the shots erupted.
Majs. James and Malinda Jones have much to be thankful for nearly a year after the shooting. James survived and has healed from the shot to his shoulder. The Dec. 1 shooting, however, happened at a horrible time for the Salvation Army, with last year’s annual kettle drive in full swing.
The couple kicked off the kettle drive for this holiday season with a renewed dedication to the agency’s mission.
“We feel extra thankful,” James Jones, 50, said during a recent interview in the Barberton Salvation Army’s chapel. “I’m never taking another day for granted.”
“I am thankful God allowed his life to be spared,” Malinda Jones, 48, agreed, putting an arm around her husband.
The shooting
James Jones went to the RP Blade Academy on Dec. 1 to get a hair and beard trim before an opiate awareness event scheduled to be held at the Salvation Army that evening.
He was seated in a barber chair, waiting his turn, when a man entered the barbershop and confronted Robert Lash Rodgers, another customer. Rodgers pulled a gun from beneath his barber cape and started shooting. The bullets struck the man he was arguing with, Jones and a teenage boy.
James was struck in the shoulder. The bullet exited his back and lodged in the barber chair.
He locked eyes with Rodgers. He braced for another shot, but it didn’t come. Instead, Rodgers fled.
James hid in a backroom, pulling boxes and a barber chair around him. He called 911, but hung up, frustrated that the dispatcher kept asking questions.
“I’m hiding,” he whispered before disconnecting.
James began to feel lightheaded and emerged from his hiding place, concerned that paramedics wouldn’t find him.
James was in the emergency room for about six hours, with doctors constantly asking him if he was having trouble breathing. He was bleeding so much that he soaked several bedsheets.
“I was in a state of shock,” said James, who has two children and four grandchildren. “I kept thinking about my wife.”
Doctors didn’t stitch James’ bullet wound, explaining that it would heal better without stitches. When he got home, Malinda took over caring for his gunshot wound.
“I see blood, I pass out,” he explained. “I felt so bad.”
Barberton Mayor Bill Judge rescheduled the opiate event scheduled for that night, holding it in February instead.
The aftermath
Rodgers was still at large after the shooting, and the Joneses were concerned that he could target James.
They decided to go to Cincinnati to visit family and give James time to heal.
The Barberton Salvation Army’s council, made up of area business and community leaders, stepped in to run the kettles in their absence.
The Barberton community also stepped up to help, offering letters of support, care packages and a plethora of mailed-in donations. The Barberton agency raised $80,000, even though kettle contributions were less than expected.
“We did what we could as a city to make sure their ideas and mission continued — that nothing stopped at the Salvation Army,” Judge said.
Though James and Malinda live in Tallmadge, Judge said they are still considered “Barbertonians” because of the many services the Salvation Army provides, including meals to the hungry, a food pantry, a hot shower program, and Christmas assistance for more than 1,000 area families in need.
“We’re blessed to have them here in Barberton,” Judge said.
James returned to work at the Salvation Army in the last week of the kettle drive and learned that Rodgers had been arrested by the violent fugitive task force.
Rodgers, 25, pleaded guilty in June under an agreement with prosecutors to charges stemming from the shooting and an unrelated fentanyl overdose death.
“I’m going to pray for you,” James Jones told Rodgers during his sentencing. “I don’t hate you. But you did some damage.”
Rodgers, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison, apologized to James and Malinda, who were in court together.
“Reverend, I’m sorry for you and your family,” he said.
After the sentencing, Rodgers’ father apologized to James on behalf of his son. He also gave him a hug.
Renewed efforts
James has physically healed from the shooting, with only a scar the size of a chickenpox mark on his shoulder.
Mentally, though, he is still dealing with the trauma.
“Some days, it is easy to talk about,” he said, getting teary. “Then, I have thoughts of ‘What if?’ We got us another chance to live.”
James says the experience has made him more aware of his surroundings. When he gets out of the car, he asks Malinda, “How many people are around you?” If she missed any, he points this out.
James thinks he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and, at times, depression. He received counseling right after the shooting, and plans to seek out more.
The experience, however, has helped reinforce James’ mission. He is using this as the theme for the kettle drive this year, which is “Live Life on Purpose.”
James and Malinda are hoping to raise $125,000 with this year’s kettle drive. The funds would go toward the Barberton agency’s debt and to start new programs. The money raised in the Barberton service area, which includes Barberton, Norton and part of New Franklin, remains there.
On a recent morning, James rallied the kettle workers at the Salvation Army before they began a day of bell ringing.
He read a passage from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and recalled how he was sometimes less than enthusiastic when he was doing his Salvation Army training and had to get up at 4 a.m. to ring a bell in New York City. But, he said, he would remember why he was doing it — and rise to the occasion.
“When you get out there, think about why you are there,” he advised the small cadre of workers. “Don’t lose sight of the goal. Doing the most good is what we do.”
James handed red kettles to the workers. He huddled with the employees and they put their hands together.
“1-2-3! Go get them!” they shouted, throwing their hands up in the air.
Joel McCaman of Barberton, one of the employees, said he is pleased that things have returned to normal at the Salvation Army. He recalled getting temporarily stranded on the day James was shot until another employee picked him up.
“They’re good people,” McCaman said of James and Malinda.
James handed McCaman a red Salvation Army apron before he left to start his day.
“I appreciate you,” James told him. “You have a good day.”
“God bless you,” McCaman responded, giving James a hug.