What makes someone a hero?
Is it bravery? Selflessness? The ability to act when others are too scared to do so? When a man opened fire inside a Waffle House restaurant, people started running away from the gunshots.
One man decided that he was going to run toward the gunman and give him the fight of his life.
29-year-old James Shaw wrestled the gunman to the ground and took the gun from him. He threw it behind the counter, and the gunman ran off. Police arrived a short time later, but the gunman was nowhere to be found. Four people were killed, and many others were injured.
Shaw talked about the incident, saying:
“There wasn’t going to be another chance it was pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel. There was nowhere to go. I grabbed closest to the barrel of the gun. I don’t really know, when everyone said that, it feels selfish. I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”
The gunman opened fire outside the Waffle House parking lot and then walked inside and started shooting.
There were about 20 people inside at the time. Shaw added:
“When he came in, I distinctively remember thinking that he is going to have to work for this kill. 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.”
Shaw doesn’t claim to be a hero, but the police, employees, and other customers see things differently. Had he not have stopped the shooter; more people would have been dead and injured.
Don Aaron, police spokesman stated:
“He saw the gunman looking at his rifle. At that point, the shots had stopped. So, he decided to rush the gunman, wrestled that assault rifle away, tossed it over the counter. At that point, the gunman then fled. He is the hero here, and no doubt he saved many lives by wrestling the gun away and then tossing it over the counter and prompting the man to leave.”
After Shaw wrestled the gun away from the gunman, he ran off.
Officers weren’t able to locate him immediately but did identify him as Travis Reinking. Reinking had previous run-ins with the law and was not legally allowed to own a firearm.
He was arrested in the past for trespassing at the White House. In 2016, he told local police officers that he believed country music singer Taylor Swift was stalking him and trying to hack into his phone. Other reports show that he has had a series of strange arrests and incidents, including barging into a pool in Illinois last summer wearing a pink woman’s coat over his underwear.
Police eventually located Reinking and took him into custody.
They are not sure what motivated the attack but believe that mental illness may play a role. Many of the victims were young college students; one was an employee at the restaurant. All of them were minorities, although it is not known if he specifically targeted these people.
Shaw also received some minor injuries during his struggle with Reinking.
He was treated at a hospital and released. His bravery and willingness to act quickly allowed the other customers and employees to feel and prevents Reinking from shooting anyone else. Shaw also has created a GoFundMe page for victims of the shooting. He may not consider himself a hero, but many other people do. Police are still trying to work out the details of the case and are questioning the shooter, as well as other witnesses and survivors.
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Posted by James Shaw Jr onMonday, April 23, 2018
Source: Love What Matters
