James Shaw Jr. is being hailed as a hero who saved lives after he wrestled an assault weapon away from a man who had already killed four people at a Tennessee Waffle House early Sunday morning.
But Shaw, who is 29, says he doesn’t feel like a hero.
“I don’t really know, when everyone said that [of being a hero], it feels selfish,” Shaw Jr. told The Tennessean. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”
Shaw Jr. was treated for a gunshot wound and has been released.
“I remember I was like ‘Dang, I’m basically in a barrel,’ ” Shaw Jr. said. “There is no place for me to go.”
He timed his attack on the gunman, who, in addition to killing four people, also wounded at least four others. Shaw Jr. says the gunman had to stop to reload, and that’s when he charged.
“When he came in, I distinctively remember thinking that he is going to have to work for this kill,” Shaw Jr. said. “I had a chance to stop him and thankfully I stopped him.”
“I grabbed the gun and kept it down. He had one hand on it. I pulled it away and threw it over the bar.”
The suspect reportedly was entirely naked, except for a jacket. According to multiple reports he is white, also 29, and on the run.
Parkland student shooting victim and activist David Hogg weighed in with some snark focused at the NRA:
According to Heavy this is Shaw Jr.’s Facebook page. It includes a video showing a man dismantling his assault rifle, and a post in which he discusses the police killing of unarmed Stephon Clarke.
“Around Police BROWN Men please don’t wear hoodies, sell loose cigarettes, have a concealed gun permit, don’t have your hands in the air on your knees, don’t have a phone in your hand, don’t be too big, don’t run the opposite way from the cops, don’t do everything the cop instructs you to do, most importantly don’t be BROWN.”
More, via Twitter:
Meet the man who disarmed the Waffle House shooter
Image via KHOU/Twitter