Waffle House Hero Wrested Gun Away From Shooter

'I figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 23, 2018 3:08 AM CDT
Waffle House Hero Wrested Gun Away From Shooter
This photo provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department shows Travis Reinking, whom police are searching for in connection with a fatal shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in the Antioch neighborhood of Nashville early Sunday.   (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

James Shaw Jr. says he isn't a hero, but a lot of people—including police and survivors of Sunday morning's mass shooting at a Nashville-area Waffle House—disagree. Shaw hid in a restroom when alleged gunman Travis Reinking opened fire, then rushed him when there was a pause in the shooting, wresting away his assault rifle and throwing it over a counter, police say. The gunman, naked from the waist down, then fled the Antioch restaurant. Shaw, 29, was grazed by a bullet during the incident and also burned his hand when he grabbed the barrel of the weapon, CNN reports. Police say that Shaw saved countless lives by rushing the gunman when he needed to reload. Four people were fatally shot during the incident.

Shaw told reporters Sunday that he was being "selfish" and the main thing on his mind had been saving his own life so he could see his 4-year-old daughter again. "I don't want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that," he said, per the Tennessean. "I figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it." He broke down when speaking about the people he couldn't save and apologized to their families. Shaw, who was joined by Nashville Mayor David Briley at a church service Sunday, has created a GoFundMe page to help the families of the victims. Reinking, 29, was still at large early Monday. He was arrested and interviewed by the FBI last year after being stopped in a restricted area outside the White House. (More Tennessee stories.)

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