09/18/2026
September 14, 2026
To: CO Luke Robare, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources
& Ofc. Jason Carpentier, Grand Blanc Twp. PD (MI)
From: Jeff Felts, Chairman of the NPRC https://centermassinc.com/NPRC
RE: Chudwin Award Notification
Dear Ofc. Carpentier & CO Robare,
On August 26, 2026, CO Kyle Bader of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources nominated you both for the Chief Jeff Chudwin Award for Patrol R***e Excellence.
The National Patrol R***e Championships (NPRC) Executive and Advisory Boards, comprised of 45-armed professionals from across the country, completed their review and voting on September 11, 2026.
CO Robare and Ofc. Carpentier, on behalf of the NPRC Executive and Advisory Boards, it is my honor and privilege to inform you that you are the recipients of the 2026 Chief Jeff Chudwin Award for Patrol R***e Excellence.
You were selected in recognition of your heroic and lifesaving actions on September 28, 2025, when you responded to reports of an active killer attacking members at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Moments before the attack, dispatch had received a bomb threat elsewhere in the community. Shortly thereafter, callers reported that a vehicle had driven through the front wall of the church sanctuary and that the driver had exited the vehicle and begun shooting people both inside and outside the church.
CO Robare arrived on scene within two minutes of the initial call. Upon arrival, he observed a victim on the ground and the offender entering the church armed with an AK-47 r***e and carrying a gas can. CO Robare pursued the offender into the church and subsequently heard gunfire coming from the parking lot.
As CO Robare made his way toward the parking lot, he encountered Ofc. Carpentier. Together, they located the offender at the rear of the parking lot, armed with an AK-47 r***e. The officers issued verbal commands, but the offender ignored them and aggressively advanced toward the officers.
Both officers engaged the moving offender with their patrol ri**es, striking him multiple times at a final distance of less than 10 yards. Once the threat was stopped, both officers immediately attempted to render aid. Finding no pulse, they then turned their attention to helping evacuate members from the church, which was then fully engulfed in fire.
The offender ultimately killed four church members and wounded eight others.
CO Robare and Ofc. Carpentier, your actions undoubtedly saved lives. You confronted an armed attacker who was actively advancing on you, stopped the threat at extremely close range, and then immediately transitioned from stopping the attack to helping others escape the burning church. At the time of the attack, the church was filled with hundreds of people.
Your actions are a powerful example of why America's first responders must have access to patrol ri**es and receive the quality training necessary to use them effectively under the most demanding circumstances. Your courage, judgment, marksmanship, and willingness to act decisively when lives were at stake represent the highest ideals of our profession.
Your actions and success during this incident should also serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement officers and agencies everywhere. Individual and organizational readiness matters. Training, equipment, preparation, and the ability to act decisively under extreme stress can make the difference between life and death.
CO Robare and Ofc. Carpentier, you are a great credit to yourselves, your respective agencies, the law enforcement profession, and the citizens you serve.
On behalf of the NPRC Executive and Advisory Boards, congratulations on receiving the 2026 Chief Jeff Chudwin Award for Patrol R***e Excellence.
Thank you for your courage, your professionalism, and your service.
