Army Pfc. Glen Oakley reportedly grabbed as many kids as he could after hearing gunshots while shopping Saturday at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas.

At first, Oakley, 22, said he didn't believe a small child who said there was an active shooter at the nearby Walmart.

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Then, while heading to the neighboring Foot Locker, he heard the gunshots echo across the mall and drew the pistol he's licensed to carry, the soldier told Task and Purpose.

"But I see a whole bunch of kids running around without their parents. Only thing I think of is pick up as many kids I can as possible," Oakley told CNN, adding he could only carry three.

"I was just focused on the kids, I wasn't really worried about myself. So just put my head down and just ran as fast as I could. They were anxious, when they were in my arms, they were trying to jump out of my arms but trying to keep them as tight as possible. They are kids, so they don't understand what is going on."

He let the kids go when he saw police and started recording on his phone in case police shot at him, he said.

Despite his actions during the mass shooting that killed 20 and injured 26 more, Oakley told CNN affiliate KFOX the focus should not be on him.

"What I did was what I was supposed to do. I understand it was heroic, and I'm looked at as a hero for it, but that wasn't the reason for me,” Oakley said, choking up as he recalled the attack.

"I'm just focused on the kids I could not get and the families that were lost. It hurts me, like, they were part of me. I don't even know the people that died or the kids that I took with me."

The Hill reached out to Oakley on social media for comment.

Federal authorities are treating the El Paso shooting as a case of domestic terrorism.

Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, was arrested and charged with capital murder. He’s alleged to have written a white nationalist manifesto ahead of the attack on the Hispanic community.