Man Who Stopped Waffle House Shooter Gives Surprise Gift to Victims' Families
After this past Sunday, James Shaw Jr. never had to do another valiant thing in his life to be considered a legendary hero.
Shaw rushed a gunman dressed only in a green coat and armed with an AR-15 at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee around 3:30 on Sunday morning.
He then “grabbed the gun’s barrel, pulled it away and threw it over the Waffle House counter,” the Tennessean reported.
Four people died in the attack — which a man named Travis Reinking is accused of perpetrating — but Shaw is credited with saving many more lives, all while taking a gunshot wound and burns from grabbing the hot barrel of the gun.
Much like the man himself, the campaign’s language is unassuming.
“My name is James Shaw Jr. I am creating this page to help the families of the victims from the Shooting that took place at Waffle House in Antioch, TN,” the page reads. “Please take the time to donate as all of the proceeds will be given to the families. Thank you again for your generosity and blessings!”
The page includes a picture of the Waffle House with police tape around the scene.
Perhaps predictably, Shaw has been very clear about the fact he doesn’t consider what he did anything special.
“I’m not a hero. I’m just a regular person, and I think anybody could have did what I did if they are just pushed into that kind of cage,” Shaw said during a news conference.
“You have to either react or you’re going to fold, and I chose to react because I didn’t see any other way of living, and that’s all I wanted to do. I just wanted to live.”
Shaw told The Tennessean that the first time he cried came when a paramedic asked him a simple question while taking his blood pressure.
“He asked if I had kids,” Shaw Jr. said. “I thought I could have possibly never seen my daughter again. That hurt.”
“It feels selfish,” he added. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”
If that doesn’t make you love the guy more, I don’t know what will. Our hats are off to you, James Shaw Jr.
Yes, four people are dead and many more are injured, but Shaw turned what could have been one of America’s worst mass shootings into a moment of pure heroism.
If you want to donate to the GoFundMe account, the page is here.
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