James Shaw Jr. is a hero. Not only did he put his life on the line to tackle an AR-15-wielding gunman who killed four people at a Nashville-area Waffle House, but he then used his newfound status to shine a spotlight on the victims. After being treated for a minor gunshot wound, he created a GoFundMe campaign for those killed or injured in the shooting.
Shaw’s actions undoubtedly saved the lives of others, but he has been nothing but humble. “I was completely doing it just to save myself,” he said at the press briefing. “I don’t want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that. It was just, I figured, if I was going to die he was going to have to work for it.”
For the campaign, Shaw set a modest goal of $15,000 to give to the victims’ families, but it has already raised on $89,000.
- If you want to help the families with their funeral costs, donate here.
- Meanwhile, reporter Yashar Ali has set up a GoFundMe to help Shaw recover from the trauma of the situation. “James has a four-year-old daughter,” Ali wrote on the page description. “Perhaps this money can be used for her college fund or some other education related expense. But I’d be just as happy if James used some of this money to take his family on a nice vacation.” If you want to help a humble hero, donate here.
- Finally, if you want to work to make sure shootings like this don’t happen again, call your Member of Congress.
Yesterday, police arrested the man they believe carried out the shooting.
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