He Was Late for School That Morning. Then a 15-Year-Old Boy Saw a Stranger Wearing a Bomb at the Gate

Aitzaz Hasan was 15 years old and lived in Ibrahimzai, a village in the Hangu district of northwest Pakistan.

On the morning of January 6, 2014, he was outside the gate of his government high school. He had arrived late, so he was not allowed into the morning assembly.

That is when a man came toward the school. The students soon realized he was wearing a suicide vest.

Reports said around 2,000 students were in classes that day.

Aitzaz did not run. He confronted the man and grabbed hold of him to stop him from reaching the gate.

The bomber set off his explosives. Aitzaz died there, but no other students were harmed.

His father, Mujahid Ali, was working in the United Arab Emirates when it happened. He later said: “My son made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children.”

All of Pakistan called him a hero. The prime minister recommended him for the Sitara-e-Shujaat, the Star of Bravery, and his family received it in March 2014.

His school was renamed Aitzaz Hasan Shaheed High School, in his honor.

Every January, people across Pakistan still remember the boy who stood at the gate so his friends could live.

Would you have had the courage to do what Aitzaz did? Tell us in the comments.