The Un-Talked About Hero, James Shaw Jr., And The Victims

 

Although the news outlets covered the Waffle House shooting for a little while I noticed the story and attention was slowly fading away. Not even a word from Donald Trump. If in case for some reason you didn't hear about what happened or forgot, let me refresh your memory about not only what happened but the latest. 

On April 22, 2018, outside of Nashville, a man with an assault-style rifle randomly murdered four people, three men and a woman, all young in their 20s. The gunman 29-year-old Travis Reinking, had a long history of aberrant behavior and even lost his legal right to own a firearm last August after an incident outside the White House.

In two years leading up to the shooting, Reinking had threatened suicide, menaced an employee of his father's crane company with his AR-15, complained to police about singer-songwriter Taylor Swift hacking his phone, and dove into a public pool wearing a pink woman's housecoat.

Flags don't get much redder than that. So what loophole allowed him to take up deadly force? After the White House incident, when Reinking had to surrender his gun owner's license to sheriff's deputies in Illinois, where he lived at the time, his four guns — including the AR-15 — simply went to his father, Jeffrey, who held the necessary license. 

"We had no legal justification to seize the weapons," Tazewell County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jeffrey Lower said. "We cannot seize property without a warrant or a crime being committed."

Instead, deputies warned the father to keep guns away from his son. That didn't happen.

THE UN-TALKED ABOUT HERO 

29-year-old James Shaw Jr, an  AT&T worker and father of a 4-year-old girl recounted to ABC News how he hid behind a door near the Waffle House's bathroom as he eyed the alleged suspect, Travis Reinking, who was reloading his weapon. 

That's when Shaw said he sprang into action. 

He wrested the shooter's AR-15 rifle away from him, throwing it over a counter and forcing the man to flee. 

Authorities said Shaw's bravery saved numerous lives, but he has refused to call himself a hero, saying only that he stood up to the gunman to save his own life. 

"I never thought I would be in a room with all the eyes on me but, you know, I am very grateful to be here," a humble Shaw told the Tennessee State legislature during a ceremony honoring him. "All I can say is ... this was a true test of a man. I do, once again, apologize to the people that lost loved ones, friends or family." 

All I can personally say is thank you.  

So far James Shaw gofundme have raise $198,006 as of April 29,2018. 

THE VICTIMS 

 

Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, worked for the Waffle House. He sustained fatal gunshot wounds while standing outside the restaurant.

Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville, was a patron. He was also fatally shot while outside the restaurant.

Akilah Dasilva, 23, of Antioch, sustained serious injuries at the restaurant, but didn’t die immediately. She breathed her last while receiving medical attention at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

 

DeEbony Groves, 21 of Gallatin, received fatal injuries while at the restaurant.