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James Shaw, Jr., is the hero who stopped the Waffle House shooter in Antioch, Tennessee, on April 22, 2018. But while Shaw says, “I’m just a regular guy,” the rest of us applaud him for being a hero.
“While I was in hospital,” Shaw, 29, says, “a girl that was there said you saved my life. I didn’t do it to be hero.”
Brennan McMurry, 28, a longtime friend of Shaw’s was with him at the Waffle House. “He is a hero in my books,” McMurry says.
James Shaw’s Instincts Saved Lives
When Travis Reinking opened fire, killing four and wounding four in the early hours of that Sunday, James Shaw sprung into action. Shaw wrestled the AR-15 away from Reinking and threw it over the counter. Reinking fled and Shaw saved numerous lives.
Shooting witness Chuck Cordero describes how terror can overtake someone witnessing such violence. Cordero was outside the Waffle House when the shooting started.
Cordero ran and hid behind his car as gunshots echoed around him. “My heart was beating, my limbs weren’t working. I tried to run and fell,” Cordero said. “I’m not a coward, but I was very scared.”
Shaw’s instincts when the shooting started led him to take cover near the restrooms. Even though he was grazed by a bullet, Shaw saw his opportunity when it seemed like the gunman’s AR-15 jammed or the shooter was reloading.
“I saw my opportunity, my window,” Shaw said. “So I took it. And I ran through the door as fast as I can and just kind of jammed him up with the gun pointed down. Then we started kind of wrestling for it and scuffling for it and fighting for it.”
That’s when Reinking let it go with one hand and Shaw took it and tossed it over the counter. Then Shaw removed him from the Waffle House.