The 29-year-old hero from Waffle House shooting: 'I saw the opportunity and I took it'
A 29-year-old man credited with saving numerous lives Sunday morning after he unarmed a man who opened fire on an Antioch Waffle House said he was just trying to stay alive.
James Shaw Jr., 29, said after feeling cornered he saw an opportunity to tackle the man shooting into an Antioch Waffle House. He said he doesn’t feel like a hero.
James Shaw Jr. shows injuries he received when he stopped a gunman from continuing to fire in a Tennessee Waffle House on April 22, 2018.
COURTESY JAMES SHAW JR.
Police spokesman Don Aaron told reporters Sunday morning that the Waffle House hero rushed the suspected shooter, disarmed him and threw the assault rifle he was carrying over the counter.
“I don’t really know, when everyone said that (of being a hero), it feels selfish,” Shaw Jr. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”
Shaw Jr. said he was at a fraternity house party before heading to the Bell Road Waffle House at about 2:30 a.m. with some friends. They left soon after because it was too packed, he said.
They decided on the Waffle House on Murfreesboro Road, which was just over 2 miles away.
The group pulled into the Waffle House at about 3:20 a.m. Not soon after, chaos broke out.
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