Officer Mack Wesley Cantrell

Officer Mack Wesley Cantrell

District of Columbia Protective Services Police Department, District of Columbia

End of Watch Monday, July 4, 1977

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Mack Wesley Cantrell

Officer Mack Cantrell succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on March 9th, 1977, when a Muslim terrorist group took over the District Building and two other nearby buildings.

During the attack, the terrorists murdered a local journalist and shot a member of the District of Columbia councilman. Officer Cantrell was struck in the head with buckshot during the incident before the terrorists took dozens of hostages. The hostages were eventually freed following extended negotiations involving the ambassadors of Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt.

All the hostage-takers were taken into custody and subsequently convicted of numerous crimes. The leader of the group was sentenced to 21 to 120 years in prison. He died at Federal Correctional Institute Butner on November 13th, 2003.

Officer Cantrell recovered enough from his wounds to return to duty on June 19th, 1977 but suffered a fatal heart attack on his first day back. He was taken to a local hospital where he passed away on July 4th, 1977.

Officer Cantrell was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the District of Columbia Protective Services Police Department for six years. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, and one granddaughter.

Bio

  • Age 51
  • Tour 6 years
  • Badge Not available
  • Military Veteran

Incident Details

  • Cause Gunfire
  • Incident Date Wednesday, March 9, 1977
  • Weapon Shotgun
  • Offender Sentenced to 120 years

barricade, terrorism

Most Recent Reflection

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Heavenly Father, I come before You today grieved in heart over the divisions in our country; the United States of America. I grieve for every life lost to violence, regardless of color or creed. And I especially grieve this day over the senseless deaths of America’s Peace Officers whose sworn duty is to protect us from harm. Please grant comfort and hope to their families. I know from the Holy Scriptures in Romans 13 that Peace Officers have a sacred task, to enforce laws that protect the innocent and punish the guilty. I pray that You will protect them as they serve us. Give them wisdom, discernment, and a deep desire to serve You. Please surround every Peace Officer in our nation, the United States of America, with battalions of warring angels to protect them from harm. I stand in the powerful and mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ against every work of Satan intended to inflict injury and death on our Protectors. May Satan’s power be thwarted, in Your mighty and holy name, and his plans exposed by Your Light. In the mighty and holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, and the Mediator between us, Heavenly Father, in prayer, and by His authority, I pray! Amen.

Please find Encouragement, Comfort, Support, and Hope from God's Word:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
[Matthew 5:9 ESV];

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." [Psalm 23:4 ESV];

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
[John 15:13 ESV];

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." [Matthew 5:4 ESV];

"And he [Jesus] said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." [Luke 23:43 ESV], and;

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." [John 3:16 ESV].

Minister Steven R. Closs, DDiv, MSBS, NACM
Ordained/Licensed Independent NACM Minister
The I'M PRAYING MINISTRY - "An Intercessory Prayer Ministry"
Member: Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers - USA

Captain Steven R. Closs (Retired)
Nashua NH Police Department (1974-1998)

July 3, 2025

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