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A Texas Panhandle man who played a crucial hero role wrestling a gun away from a maniac holding hostages was shot by a police officer who thought he was the suspect.

Amarillo police say they received a report on Wednesday stating that a man was holding dozens hostage inside the chapel of Faith City Mission, a shelter serving the indigent and others.

An officer saw the man holding a gun when he went inside and shot him. Police later found out during the investigation that the man was not the suspect, and that the officer was mistaken in shooting him. The man earlier fought with the real gunman and was able to take away his weapon. The man was a worker in the shelter.

The hostage situation could have potentially worsened into a deadly shooting as the gunman took over 100 people hostage inside the said chapel if the worker did not foil the gunman.

Authorities say the worker who played a heroic role in trying to save lives of the hostages is still in the hospital recovering from injuries that are not considered life-threatening. Local reports said he already underwent surgery.

The real gunman, 35-year-old Joshua Len Jones, is being held at the Potter County jail on multiple counts of aggravated kidnapping.

The police readily owned up to their mistake and issued a clarification. They released a statement that read: “The initial investigation indicates that the man the officer shot had originally been in a struggle with the original suspect and had taken away the gun from the suspect. The initial suspect has been taken into custody and is not injured. No other persons were hit by gunfire. This is very early in the investigation and more details will be available at a later time.”

The worker is not identified.

Sources:

https://thedailycoin.org/2018/02/18/hero-citizen-stops-mass-shooting-church-cops-show-shoot-media-silent

https://apnews.com/31b1ad0460164d29875679bb5166f3ef