The
second an active shooter enters, adrenaline spikes and people scatter for
safety. Amidst heightened blood pressure
and blood loss, someone decides to risk their life because they might die
anyway. When the news breaks about the
latest shooting episode, the perpetrator gets significantly more attention than
the random paladin, who gets a few minutes of fame. The spotlight turns away to the next grisly
news story. People share articles once
on Facebook and then continue scrolling.
Afterward, the courageous names elude our minds.
As
these incidents become more frequent, more heroes emerge. During research, more people worthy of
mentioning kept coming up in print, but this list had to be curtailed or else
this article would be 50 pages long. I
chose 17 magnanimous individuals who saved people, took down the shooter, or
died trying. They are listed by incident
date in descending order. Six people died
in combatting the shooter, five lived but were injured, and only four came out
unscathed. One, I was unsure of his
injuries, and one never came in contact with the shooter but was courageous
nonetheless. Liviu Librescu and Anthony
Borges both blocked doorways, preventing the rampager from accessing potential
victims. Victoria Soto and Shannon
Wright both shielded children with their own bodies.
Out of
the eleven surviving individuals on this list, seven denied feeling like a
hero. They expressed thoughts of
self-preservation, instinctual behavior, and that anyone else would have taken
the same course of action.
With
modesty, they can continue grocery shopping without interruption or getting
mobbed for autographs at the gym.
Plastering the culprit’s face on news reels raises awareness of a
dangerous person, but infamy is hardly shaming when the crime is
intimidating. The good guys get a blip
of screen time and blurbed articles, which people acknowledge for a few minutes
tops before scrolling onto the next meme on social media. This may be another blurb that the public
will scroll past, but it contributes to the recognition of these brave souls,
and they deserve to go down in history for their good deeds.
Date: May 17, 2019
Incident: Parkrose
High School Attempted Shooting
Location: Portland,
Oregon
Keanon Lowe
It was
the day before the prom when an 18-year-old student, Angel Granados Dias,
entered a classroom with a shotgun. The
school security guard, Keanon Lowe, had him on the ground. No one died, and no one was harmed, except
for the foiled shooter who probably had a few well-deserved bruises from the
take down.
Lowe
was not just a security guard, but also the football and track coach. During his college years, he played football
for the University of Oregon Ducks.
Before working at Parkrose High School, he was a football analyst for
the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. NBC and CBS raced to cover his story.
Without
Coach Lowe being in the right place and time, an unknowable number of lives
would have ended, and wounds inflicted with varying acuity. There would be fewer prom goers, but no one
was harmed, and the prom still commenced as scheduled. There are no missing seats at
graduation. Lowe’s tackle was well
played.
[UPDATE - 10/19/2019]
Surveillance footage was released, and it turns out that Coach Lowe
disarmed the student before he could enter the classroom. Instead of tackling the student, they hugged
in the middle of the hallway. Another
faculty member walked away with the gun.
As of October 2019, the potential killer was sentenced to three years’
probation including mandatory mental health services.
Date: May 7, 2019
Incident: STEM School Highlands Ranch Shooting
Location: Highlands
Ranch, Colorado
Kendrick Castillo,
Brendan Bialy, Josh Jones
The
British Literature class was watching The Princess Bride when one of the
shooters stormed into the classroom.
Kendrick Castillo was within 10 feet of the killer, Devon Erickson. He rushed the shooter, taking a bullet to the
chest. Castillo pushed the shooter to
the wall, and then Brendan Bialy and Josh Jones helped take down the
perpetrator. The other classmates were
able to flee to safety.
Bialy
pried the gun from Erickson’s hands, and Jones tackled him. Jones took two bullets to his left leg, and
while pinning the murderer, Jones decided to call his mother and let her know
he was going to be okay. Brendan and a
teacher helped give first aid to Kendrick.
Other students applied pressure to the wound. Bialy tried to talk to Castillo, but no voice
came. Kendrick Castillo died protecting
his class, who were all an extension of his family.
Castillo
was raised to be brave and moral, and he admired his Marine veteran grandfather
who had passed away. While his
grandfather was alive, they used to go camping and fishing together, according
to CNN. It would be nice to believe they
reunited in the afterlife and were camping again.
Bialy
was accepted into the Marines for his courage and risking his life to save
others. He strongly believes that heroes
in active shooter situations deserve more recognition. He said, “Kendrick Castillo is the name I
think should not go away to the sands of time,” as quoted by NBC.
Josh
Jones gave a recorded interview with ABC reporters with his parents
present. He gave a detailed account of
everything that transpired. He did not
feel like a hero. Both Jones and Bialy
felt like they were acting on instinct.
Although he disregards his own hero labeling, Josh wants to become a
paramedic.
Date: March 15, 2019
Incident:
Christchurch Mosque Attacks
Locations: Al Noor
and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand
Naeem Rashid
Some
heroes are martyrs. The majority of
Christchurch’s bloodshed took place at Al Noor Mosque, and one man was not
going to just forfeit his life. Naeem
Rashid attempted to tackle the killer, Brenton Tarrant. Rashid was shot fatally. His family mourned him, and his father admired
his son’s self-sacrifice.
Rashid
was a teacher in Christchurch, New Zealand.
His son, who died during the attack, had graduated with a civil
engineering degree. Rashid’s wife
survived them, and she was proud of them both, according to Al Jazeera.
Naeem
Rashid was post-humorously honored with a national award for his courage. Taking his chances against the bigoted
monstrosity was a courageous attempt to cut the rampage short. Tarrant continued killing, but Rashid refused
to surrender his life and other people’s lives – just because they were
different.
Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah
Brenton
Tarrant killed significantly fewer people at the second location, Linwood
Mosque, namely because of Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah. His heroics belong in an adrenaline-packed
action movie! The AP News detailed his
story well, along with numerous sources that wanted to document the riveting
account.
There were over 80 people inside
the mosque. Wahabzadah espied Tarrant
out a window. The gunman was yelling
profanity and shooting people. Abdul
Aziz warned everyone to get down. A bullet
shattered a window, and a man was shot.
Wahabzadah
grabbed the closest item, a credit card machine, and ran outside screaming,
“Come here!” Tarrant went back to his
car to get another gun, and Abdul Aziz threw the credit card machine at
him. Tarrant rearmed himself, firing
again. Abdul weaved between parked cars,
evading bullets. He found a dropped
shotgun, tried to shoot Tarrant, but it was empty. Tarrant retreated to his car again, and Abdul
threw the empty shotgun like a javelin at Tarrant’s car, shattering the
windshield. Tarrant drove away,
cursing. Abdul chased the car to a red
light, and Tarrant made a U-turn, driving away.
Abdul
Aziz Wahabzadah was a refugee from Afghanistan, and he wasn’t going to put up
with terrorism from a white supremacist.
Abdul knew it was not his time to die, and that Allah was with him. He rebuked the hero branding, because he said
that anyone would have taken action as he had.
However, out of his congregation of 80+ people, his deeds stood
out. No one else was battling Tarrant.
Date: April 22, 2018
Incident: Nashville
Waffle House Shooting
Location: Nashville,
Tennessee
James Shaw Jr.
This
man also did not see himself as a hero.
He was in self-preservation mode when Travis Reinking attacked. After a night of clubbing, James Shaw Jr. and
his friend went to the Waffle House on Bell Road. In a dark twist of destiny, they chose to
leave the overcrowded waffle joint in favor of the Murfreesboro Pike location,
where the shooting occurred.
When he first heard the shots, he
thought it was shattering plates. A
bullet grazed Shaw’s elbow as he retreated behind a swivel door leading to the
bathroom. Four people had already been
shot fatally. The Washington Post quoted
his thoughts at the time, “[…] if it was going to come down to it, he was going
to have to work to kill me.” Either
Reinking started to reload or his gun was jammed. Shaw heard a pause in the shooting, and he
took that opportunity. He grabbed the
hot gun barrel, wrestled it out of the perpetrator’s hands, and threw the gun
over the counter. The gunman fled the
Waffle House. Shaw was hospitalized for
his wound and burns on his hands.
Shaw
focused on saving himself without realizing that his struggle resulted in
numerous bystanders being saved too.
Self-preservation is an instinct, and it is completely normal to want to
save yourself. James Shaw Jr. was an
unintentional hero, and he was humble about his courageous deed in interviews. Because of his gutsy drive to stay alive, the
other people could continue living.
Date: February 14,
2018
Incident: Stoneman
Douglas High School Shooting
Location: Parkland,
Florida
Anthony Borges
During
the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, 15-year-old Anthony Borges took five
bullets. He used his body to block entry
for Nikolas Cruz, who could not access and kill anyone inside the
classroom. There were twenty students,
whose lives were spared. Standing in the
doorway, Borges nearly gave his life.
The
boy’s heroism required intense surgery afterward. One third of Borges’s lung had to be
removed. One bullet threatened his
liver. He was the last Stoneman Douglas
High School shooting patient to be discharged.
He had a total of nine surgeries, and he still needs surgeries at future
dates.
He may
be a boy, but he has been called, “the real Iron Man.” Like many unexpected avengers, Anthony also
denies his hero title. According to the
Miami Herald, he said, "I only did what I could, what I
had to, [to] save others." His
surviving classmates were the ones who gave him the nickname, and one actor
from the movie, Iron Man, sent him video messages, praising him as a hero and
hoping for his recovery. One thing
Borges did not have to sacrifice was soccer.
Doctors said he would soon be able to play again.
Date: October 1, 2017
Incident: Route 91
Harvest Music Festival Shooting
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Steve Keys
At the
country music festival, an off-duty firefighter saw a woman collapse. She was shot multiple times, and she was 15
feet in front of him. The firefighter,
Steve Keys, ducked down, and ran to help.
He assessed the damage and started CPR.
In the third round of bullets, Keys was grazed. He continued to do CPR until he realized she
was beyond revival.
Keys
crawled toward the center, grassy area.
Bullets came raining down, and he was lucky to survive another
round. He relocated to the bleachers,
where people were being treated. There,
he helped more victims and even ran IVs when an off-duty nurse arrived. Keys and other unnamed heroes pitched in to
help the wounded. The police approved
them using someone’s van to shuttle injured people to the ambulance area, as
recounted from ABC News.
Being
grazed by a bullet is a near hit, and normal people would have panicked and
fled. Lightning doesn’t strike twice, so
maybe it was strategic to stay in one spot at that given moment. This man continued to do CPR and when he could
no longer help one person, he persisted to assist other people despite himself
being injured. A bullet grazing his left
side did not stop Steve Keys from helping others, all while dodging a hail
storm of bullets.
Chris Bethel
Far
from the concert, high above, the closest hero was two stories below the
perpetrator at the Mandalay Bay casino hotel.
There was no mistaking bullets for fireworks. The Iraq War veteran recognized the gunshots
immediately, and also noted the change in calibers between rounds. The veteran, Chris Bethel, was alone in his
hotel room. He tried to call 911, but no
one was picking up. The emergency lines
were already overflowing with calls about the same incident, but the one who
knew where the killer was – could not get through. Bethel tried to call the front desk, and then
tried calling the hotel across the street.
No one was picking up. Bethel did
not give up. He finally got through to
the police and gave the invaluable information that led them to the shooter.
Even
though Bethel did the right thing, he was overwhelmed with the feeling that he
did not take action quickly enough, CBS reported. With unresponsive emergency services, phone
lines were tied and communication was more difficult. Like a soldier, Chris Bethel did not
stop. Bethel did everything in his power
to report the shooter, Stephen Paddock.
The mass murderer was one of the deadliest in US history, and if there
were more 911 dispatchers hired, maybe Bethel’s call would have come through
earlier, and Paddock would have been apprehended sooner, sparing more
lives. If it brings any solace, the
remaining ammunition signifies the bullets that never hit anyone. Bethel stopped Paddock from using those
bullets.
Date: December 14,
2012
Incident: Sandy Hook
Elementary School Shooting
Location: Newtown,
Connecticut
Dawn Hochsprung
Principal
Hochsprung was in a meeting at Sandy Hook Elementary when she heard
gunshots. An adult not old enough to
drink, Adam Lanza, stood in the hallway with his military assault rifle,
wearing a bulletproof vest. Dawn was 47
years old, and 5 foot 2. She rushed up
to Adam Lanza in an attempt to stop him.
Only bullets stopped this principal.
She died letting him know that not everyone would cower before his gun
barrel.
In
addition to being principal, she was in graduate school in pursuit of a
doctorate degree. Enhancing school
security was one of her goals at Sandy Hook.
She also had a fun side. To
encourage reading, she was known to dress up as the “Sandy Hook Book
Fairy.” Dawn was unarmed in her defense
against Lanza, but if she were, this fairy would have hit him with the book.
(Source: Fallen
Heroes Project)
Victoria Leigh Soto
This
first grade teacher hid ten first grade students in a closet. Other students were hiding elsewhere within
the classroom. Adam Lanza entered. Ms. Soto said the students fled to the
gym. Then a few refuging students tried
to run, and the gunman knew she lied. He
tried to shoot those children, and she dove in, shielding them with her
body. She saved at least one child, and
the parents are eternally grateful. They
would never be able to thank Ms. Soto, because the bullets she took for the
children took her life instead.
Initially,
I read that she said the children went to the gymnasium, and that Lanza simply
shot her anyway, and then moved on. Then
new sources mentioned the scared children fleeing, resulting in Lanza’s
detection. A strange miracle occurred
though. CBS mentioned that a few
children ran past Adam Lanza, who was in the doorway. Did Lanza spare them, or was he unable to
ready the Bushmaster .223?
Ms.
Soto died that Friday in December, and Christmas was her favorite holiday. Her mother was unsurprised that she defended
the children. The heroic woman was 27
years old, and lived for her job of teaching children.
Date: December 14,
2010
Incident: Panama
School Board Shooting
Location: Panama
City, Florida
Ginger Littleton
This
woman hit a failed shooter with her handbag.
Clay Duke was upset over his wife’s termination, and spray painted the
emblem from V for Vendetta on a wall before failing to murder people on the Bay
District school board.
Among
the people selected to be spared, Ginger complied with Duke’s initial direction
to leave the room. Duke fired a few
shots at the board members and missed every time. He came around the dais to reattempt shooting
his unmoving victims, including Superintendent Husfelt. In the doorway behind the would-be killer was
Ginger Littleton. Security was taking
awhile, and she knew she was in a position to take action. She swung her faux crocodile bag at Duke,
attempting to dislodge the gun from his hand.
It didn’t work. He pushed her to
the floor, and she gave a cry of reasonable fear. He cursed at her, pointing the gun at her,
but he did not shoot her. The armed
security guard finally arrived and shot Clay Duke, who then shot himself. Only the gunman died in this incident.
The
guard, Mike Jones, was praised as a hero, but Ginger Littleton was only armed
with a handbag and tried to fight an active shooter. Clay Duke was a dumb shot, but no one knew
that, and he really could have killed someone.
CNN covered her story and even the contents of her bag. Littleton’s daughters thought she was crazy, and
she concurred that it was not a good idea.
I disagree. It takes guts to aspire
for heroism.
Date: April 16, 2007
Incident: Virginia
Tech Massacre
Location: Blacksburg,
Virginia
Liviu
Librescu
On
April 16, 2007 in Norris Hall, a professor blocked a classroom doorway and took
bullets to allow his students to escape through the windows. Dr. Liviu Librescu was an engineering
professor for 22 years at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. During his life he had earned a list of
awards and had numerous publications, filling up his textbook-thick
resume. The shooter, Cho Seung Hui, may
have brainlessly demolished a great mind, but Librescu left a trail of
accomplishments for everyone to admire.
Liviu
Librescu was a Holocaust survivor. He
was born in Romania, and confined to a Jewish ghetto as a boy, while his father
was sent to a concentration camp. With
all the hardships he was able to endure, it is plausible that surviving a
school shooting was not his aim, but to let others survive, those who had their
whole lives ahead of them. At the age of
76, Dr. Librescu taught only because he loved teaching.
The
professor’s awards continued to compile post-humorously. Scholarships have been named in his honor,
and Stockton University named a room after Librescu in their Holocaust Resource
Center, according to Virginia Tech’s website.
Date: March 21, 2005
Incident: Red Lake
High School Massacre
Location: Red Lake,
Minnesota
Jeffrey May
Jeffrey
May attempted to take down the shooter, Jeffrey Weise. Weise was tall and chubby, and May played
football and basketball. May witnessed
his girlfriend, Alicia White, die and then his friend Dewayne Lewis Miller was
shot dead. Weise pulled the trigger on
the teacher, Mrs. Dobbs, but the gun was out of ammunition. Weise started to reload, and May sprang up
and tried to stab him with a sharpened pencil.
Weise shot May in the jaw, causing him to fall to the floor with a mouth
full of blood. Pain seared down his
spinal column.
Even
for a large person, attempting to fight a school shooter is a deadly risk. It’s not as easy as people think. Every situation is different. Normally, pre-planned stunts of downing a
gunman are dumb fantasies. May faced
reality. Wahabzadah’s scenario was an
outlier. May was not Neo from the Matrix,
but a real human who was willing to take a bullet - point blank. A boy who was fit enough to play the most
dangerous sport in high school literally took a stab at the shooter and rolled
the dice on death. The will to take that
risk revealed his bravery.
In the
hospital, Mrs. Dobbs visited him a week after the massacre. May’s face and neck were heavily bandaged,
and he could not talk. He communicated
with a dry erase board. MPR News
reported that he wrote to the teacher, “I thought you were dead.” May did not know the chamber was empty when
the gun was aimed at Dobbs. When May
rushed the killer, he prevented him from re-attempting that shot. Weise’s focus was shifted to May.
May was
heralded as a hero in the Red Lake Reservation.
Instead of hiding, he took action.
To take that flying, stabbing leap of faith, it took guts and
timing. It also took sacrifice. May was in a wheel chair and he lost his
football scholarship, and muscle strength in his left side. He was awarded $750,000 for his heroism. He bought a house.
A
decade later, his 8 inch scar still stretched down from jaw to neck. He could get plastic surgery, but declined
that option. MPR News quoted him, “I
prefer to keep it as a souvenir.”
Date: March 24, 1998
Incident: West Side
Middle School Ambush
Location: Jonesboro,
Arkansas
Shannon Wright
The
massacre in Jonesboro, Arkansas was overshadowed by Columbine, but Shannon
Wright’s brave act should be remembered.
The juvenile killers staged a fake fire drill and hid in a distance
brush, shooting emerging students. The
New York Times said a “red bead” was targeting Emma Pittman, and Mrs. Wright
pushed this child, and put herself in the line of fire, saving the 11-year-old
girl. Mrs. Wright took a fatal wound,
and died in the hospital.
This
was not a mean teacher. Her husband knew
she wasn’t the type to trash-talk students, and loved her job. She did not criticize any of her students,
even the killers, Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson, both of whom she taught.
Instead
of shying from the laser, she risked getting killed just to push a girl out of
the way. She sacrificed her own life to
save a younger person, who had a long life ahead of her. It was an act of agape. Mrs. Wright earned eternal gratitude from the
Pittman family, and the teacher would never hear it.
Date: October 30,
1985
Incident: Springfield
Mall Shooting
Location:
Springfield, Pennsylvania
John W. Laufer III
This
man successfully took down a shooter, and he came out unscathed. Not many people talk about this hero, and he
deserves recognition. John Laufer III was
a 24-year-old volunteer firefighter at a time when mass shootings were not a
monthly news story. Not only did Laufer
mistake the gunshot sounds for fireworks, but when the deadly woman approached,
Laufer was still in denial, thinking she was shooting blanks. This was 1985, when mass murder was less
expected.
Clad in military fatigues, the
paranoid schizophrenic perpetrator, Sylvia Seegrist, was advancing toward
Laufer and his female friend. Seegrist
tried to shoot Laufer, but missed him and the bullet hit another woman behind
him. Seegrist aimed her .22
semi-automatic rifle at Laufer again as he approached. He later said it felt like a dream, and he
still doesn’t know how the bullet missed his body. Standing 6 foot 2, John Laufer III tackled
Sylvia Seegrist, ending her rampage.
Laufer denied the hero label. United Press International quoted him saying,
“It was just a job that had to be done, and I was just glad I was there to do
it to prevent any further harm to any other patrons of the mall.” His father was proud, and UPI said Laufer’s
fire chief was unsurprised, saying, “We wouldn't expect anything different from
Jack.”
©2019 Caroline Friehs
Originally
posted: June 8, 2019
Updated on: October 19, 2019
Updated on: October 19, 2019
References
ABC 7 (2019 Oct 19). ‘Hero’
coach disarms Oregon student who brought loaded gun to school [Video]. ABC
News. Retrieved from: https://abc7.com/hero-coach-disarms-student-with-loaded-shotgun-video/5631075/
Acevedo, N (2019 May 18). Oregon school coach, former football star Keanon Lowe, tackles armed student, witnesses say. NBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oregon-school-coach-keanon-lowe-former-football-star-tackles-student-n1007366
Arnold, A (2019 Mar 17).
New Zealand shootings: Hero
picked up mosque attacker’s gun and chased him.
Sky News. Retrieved from: https://news.sky.com/story/new-zealand-shootings-hero-worshipper-picked-up-attackers-gun-and-chased-him-11667098
Associated Press (2012 Dec. 17). Slain Sandy Hook Teacher’s Grieving Mother,
Sister Talk About Her Heroic Act. CBS. Retrieved
from: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/17/sandy-hook-first-grade-teacher-victoria-soto-remembered-as-hero/
Associated Press (2017 Oct 2). Iraq War Veteran Helped Direct Cops To Vegas
Shooter’s Room. CBS. Retrieved from: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/10/02/iraq-war-veteran-helped-direct-cops-to-vegas-shooters-room/
Associated Press (2017 Oct 3). Man 2 floors above Las Vegas shooter recalls
frantic scene. CBS. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-shooting-chris-bethel-below-stephen-paddock-recalls-frantic-scene/
Associated Press (2017 Oct 17). Glendale firefighter honored for helping Las
Vegas victims. ABC News. Retrieved
from: https://abc7.com/glendale-firefighter-honored-for-helping-las-vegas-victims/2545753/
Associated Press (2019 Mar 16). Dodging bullets, a father of 4 confronted the
New Zealand shooter and saved lives. CNN. Retrieved
from: https://m.cnn.com/en/article/h_c8a74bac766cae0300391f535f2f0e91
Associated Press (2019 Mar 17). Pakistan to honour Christchurch ‘hero’ with
national award. Al Jazeera. Retrieved
from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/pakistan-honour-christchurch-mosque-hero-national-award-190317073949724.html
Associated Press (2019 May 14). STEM School hero, Josh Jones, called mom
while subduing shooter. ABC – The Denver Channel. Retrieved from: https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/stem-school-shooting/stem-school-hero-josh-jones-talks-about-shooting
Associated Press (2019 May 18). High school coach stops armed suspect before
any shots fired. CBS. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keanon-lowe-parkrose-high-school-soccer-coach-stops-armed-man-before-any-shots-fired/
Ayres, B. D (1998 Mar 26).
Bloodshed In The School Yard: The Teacher; Stunned Residents Find Solace
in Act of Heroism. The New York Times. Retrieved
from: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/26/us/bloodshed-schoolyard-teacher-stunned-residents-find-solace-act-heroism.html
Chavez, N & McLean S (2019 May 8). This student died trying to stop the Colorado
school shooter. CNN. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/08/us/kendrick-castillo-denver-stem-shooting/index.html
Chuck, E (2018 Apr 4).
Anthony Borges, Parkland teen who was shot shielding classmates, rejects
‘hero’ label. NBC News. Retrieved
from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anthony-borges-parkland-teen-who-shielded-classmates-speaks-first-time-n862636
Cohen, H (2018 Apr 4).
Parkland teen hailed as ‘the Real Iron Man’ for shielding
classmates. He shook his head. Miami
Herald. Retrieved from: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article207912004.html
Enger, J (2015 Mar 18).
Feeling scars at Red Lake, 10 years later. Minnesota
Public Radio. Retrieved from: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/18/red-lake-shooting-10-years
Gonzales, J (2018 Apr 22).
The 29-year-old hero from Waffle House shooting: ‘I saw the opportunity
and I took it.’ Tennessean. Retrieved
from: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/04/22/waffle-house-shooting-hero-stopped-shooter/540061002/
Hanna, J; Roberts, J; Baldwin, B; Moos, J (2010 Dec
16). Woman who walloped gunman: ‘I was
concerned about my guys.’ CNN. Retrieved
from: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/15/florida.ginger.littleton.purse/index.html
Jeffers, B (2017 Oct 3).
DFW Man Back Home After Leading Police To Vegas Shooter. CBS. Retrieved from: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/10/03/dfw-man-back-home-after-leading-police-to-vegas-shooter/
Levenson, E & Henderson, J (2018 Apr 4). Final Parkland shooting survivor released
from the hospital. CNN. Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/us/parkland-shooting-survivor-hospital/index.html
Lewis, S (2019 Oct 19).
Surveillance video captures the dramatic moment a high school coach
disarmed a student with a gun. CBS News.
Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/surveillance-video-captures-dramatic-moment-a-high-school-coach-disarmed-a-student-with-a-gun/
Nguyen, A (2017 Oct 2). Glendale firefighter injured during Las Vegas mass shooting. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-me-shooting-in-vegas-20171002-story.html
Perry, N (2019 Mar 16).
Man who stood up to mosque gunman probably saved lives. The Associated
Press. Retrieved from: https://apnews.com/ccf69233a36446c2b6c9e92f3e6cf417
Reagan, M (2019).
Dawn Hochsprung. Fallen Heroes Project. Retrieved from: https://www.fallenheroesproject.org/united-states/dawn-hochsprung/
Saber, N & Ahmadi, N (2019 Mar 17). New Zealand terror attacks: The hero of Christchurch talks. Deutsche
Welle. Retrieved from: https://www.dw.com/en/new-zealand-terror-attacks-the-hero-of-christchurch-talks/a-47955945
Smith, P & Walker, H (2019 May 8). Marine recruit and other Colorado STEM school
students helped disarm gunman. NBC News. Retrieved from: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/colorado-stem-school-student-brendan-bialy-helped-disarm-gunman-n1003181
UPI Archives (1985 Oct 31).
A 24-year-old volunteer fireman who probably saved many lives… United
Press International. Retrieved
from: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/10/31/A-24-year-old-volunteer-fireman-who-probably-saved-many-lives/4740098856922/
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(2019). Liviu Librescu. [College Website]. Retrieved from: https://www.weremember.vt.edu/biographies/librescu.html
Wong, H (2018 Apr 22).
James Shaw Jr. on why he rushed the Waffle House shooter: ‘He was going
to have to work to kill me.’ The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/04/22/james-shaw-jr-on-why-he-rushed-the-waffle-house-shooter-he-was-going-to-have-to-work-to-kill-me/?utm_term=.0e7313b8d675
Photo credits
Keanon Lowe NBC
Kendrick Castillo NBC
Brendan Bialy NBC
Josh Jones The Denver Channel
Naeem Rashid Ministry of Overseas Pakastanis & HRD
Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah Deutsche Welle
James Shaw Jr. CNN
Anthony Borges NBC
Steve Keys ABC 7
Chris Bethel CBS
Dawn Hochsprung The Daily Beast
Victoria Leigh Soto CBS
Ginger Littleton Inside Edition
Liviu Librescu We Remember - Virginia Tech
Jeffrey May Minnesota Public Radio
Shannon Wright Find a Grave
John W. Laufer III CBS
