4-23-18-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY-
Police are still looking for Travis Reinking, the man believed to be responsible for today’s tragic Waffle House shooting.
Four are confirmed dead, and two more were shot, but even more lives could have been lost if not for the brave actions of James Shaw.
Shaw reportedly wrestled Reinking to the ground, taking away his rifle. Witnesses say Reinking then fled the scene. Shaw told the Tennessean that he doesn’t feel like a hero.
“I don’t really know, when everyone said that (of being a hero), it feels selfish,” Shaw Jr. said. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”
Shaw told the Tennessean that he and friends had left an overcrowded frat house party. The group got to the Waffle House at 2:30 a.m., five minutes before the shooter opened fire.
Shaw Jr. said he doesn’t remember how many shots were fired, but when he saw another man on the floor and felt a bullet graze him, he lunged toward the bathroom.
“I remember I was like ‘Dang, I’m basically in a barrel,’ ” Shaw Jr. said. “There is no place for me to go.”
When he saw that Reinking needed to reload, Shaw rushed him.
“When he came in, I distinctively remember thinking that he is going to have to work for this kill,” Shaw Jr. said.
Both men are 29 years old.
“I had a chance to stop him and thankfully I stopped him… I grabbed the gun and kept it down. He had one hand on it. I pulled it away and threw it over the bar.”
At the hospital when a girl thanked him for saving her life, Shaw said, “I didn’t do it to be a hero.”
