Nashville Waffle House shooting – Brave diner shot as he tackled gun maniac Travis Reinking who killed four in Tennessee bloodbath saved many lives
James Shaw Jr bravely wrestled with the naked shooter as he killed four people and injured seven others on Sunday morning
A MODEST hero who was shot as he tackled and disarmed a gunman who opened fire at a Waffle House in the US says he was only looking out for himself.
Diner James Shaw Jr bravely wrestled with the naked shooter as he killed four people and injured seven others on Sunday morning in Antioch, near Nashville, Tennessee.
Shaw Jr was grazed by a bullet and treated for a gunshot wound on his elbow after bravely taking on the gun maniac. He has since been released from hospital.
Travis Reinking has now been named by cops as the main suspect following the shooting and remains at large - feared armed.
Metro Nashville Police Department said the shooter - who was armed with an AR-15 rifle - is now wanted for murder.
Shaw Jr, 29, - who has been praised for saving lives - said after at first "feeling cornered" he saw an opportunity to tackle the armed man.
He can’t recall exactly how many shots were fired but remembers seeing one victim lying on the floor.
Shaw Jr said a bullet grazed him as he dashed towards the diner's bathroom for safety.
"I'm not a hero, I'm just a regular person," he said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon while tearing up.
"I think anybody could have did what I did if they're just pushed in that kind of cage.
"You have to either react or you're going to fold and I chose to react because I didn't see any other way of me living, and that's what I wanted to do, I wanted to live."
"I remember I was like ‘Dang, I’m basically in a barrel, '” Shaw Jr said earlier. “There is no place for me to go.”
As the suspect tried to reload the automatic weapon Shaw Jr pounced burning his hand as he grabbed the barrel of the AR-15 rifle.
“When he came in, I distinctively remember thinking that he is going to have to work for this kill,” Shaw Jr said. “I had a chance to stop him and thankfully I stopped him.”
He added: “I grabbed the gun and kept it down. He had one hand on it. I pulled it away and threw it over the bar."
However the 29-year-old played down his actions.
"While I was in hospital, a girl that was there said you saved my life," he revealed. "I didn’t do it to be hero."
“I don’t really know, when everyone said that (of being a hero). I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.
"It's something out of a movie. I'm okay though, but I hate that it happened."
Shaw Jr said that although he is not very religious, he went to church after the shooting as he felt there was "some divine entity" looking over him during the shooting.
"In a tenth of a second something was with me to run through that door and get the gun from him," he said during the press conference.
"You could probably do that 10 times and only come out one time with the outcome I came out with. Something, some divine entity, was looking over me."
Shaw Jr was also adamant in his belief that he was not a hero, despite being lauded by the police, FBI, and Waffle House executives.
"I just wanted to persevere," he said. "I don't want people to think I'm the Terminator or Superman."
"I just figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it. I rushed him and it worked out in my favour.
"I don't want this to be the focal point of my life. I don't want this to be a major moment in my life, even though I know it's going to be."
Waffle House hero rushed the suspected shooter, disarmed him and threw his assault rifle over a counter.
Chuck Cordero, an off-duty Waffle House employee said Shaw Jr “really saved some people,”
“Had that guy had a chance to reload his weapon, there was plenty more people in that restaurant,” he said.
Police have identify victims killed in this morning's shooting as employee Taurean Sanderlin, 29 and diners Joe Perez, 20, Akilah Dasilva, 23, and a 21-year-old woman whose family hasn't been notified.
Police were called to the restaurant at around 3.30am local time (9.30am UK time) this morning following reports of gunfire.
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Police confirmed he was wearing nothing at the time of the shooting and now his apartment is said to be surrounded by armed cops and neighbours reported hearing a "loud boom."
Cops were also reportedly heard shouting “we have a search warrant, come outside with your hands up”.
The suspect is said to have arrived at the diner wearing a green jacket with nothing underneath before taking off the coat.
A Waffle House spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident.
"Right now, our first thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we will be there for them in this most difficult. We are still gathering the details, and so we don't have much information to share."