The 29-year-old hero from Waffle House shooting: 'I saw the opportunity and I took it'

UPDATE: Metro police announced Monday afternoon that shooting suspect Travis Reinking had been arrested after a 34-hour manhunt.

James Shaw Jr. cried at least four times Sunday after a tragic morning where he wrestled a gun away from a shooter at an Antioch Waffle House.

The shooting left four dead and injured numerous others.

The first time Shaw Jr. cried was in an ambulance at 4 a.m. while he was transported to the hospital for a gunshot wound. One of the paramedics asked Shaw Jr. questions while checking his blood pressure.

“He asked if I had kids,” Shaw Jr. said. “I thought I could have possibly never seen my daughter again. That hurt.”

The 29-year-old’s actions are credited with saving numerous lives after the suspect, clothed in only a green jacket, opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at 3:25 a.m. at the Antioch Waffle House on Murfreesboro Pike.

More on the Waffle House shooting

► Waffle House shooting: 4 dead in Waffle House shooting in Antioch; suspect had prior contact with police

► Waffle House shooting witness: 'My heart was beating, my limbs weren't working'

► Warrants: Who is the man police are searching for in connection to the Antioch Waffle House shooting?

Shaw Jr. rushed the gunman, grabbed the gun’s barrel, pulled it away and threw it over the Waffle House counter. He suffered a gunshot wound and burns from grabbing the gun’s barrel.

Shaw Jr. said he doesn’t feel like a hero.

He was only trying to stay alive.

“It feels selfish,” Shaw Jr. “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it.”

Friends, families and the community disagree.

“He is a hero in my books," said Brennan McMurry, 28, a longtime friend of Shaw's who was with him at the Waffle House.

A family man first

Shaw Jr. is a family man. His 4-year-old daughter Brooklyn is always first on his mind. his sisters said.

The Nashville native and Hunter’s Lane High School graduate's daughter was born in 2014 while he was a Tennessee State University student. He then studied at Brightwood College to get a degree as an electrician technician.

He works at AT&T and helps out small businesses, said Brittani Shaw, 34, who is James Shaw Jr.’s older sister.

Shaw Jr. is the youngest of three and is like any younger brother, sister Briná Shaw said.

► Waffle House shooting: Police confirm AR-15 used in attack at Antioch diner

► Waffle House shooting: Did suspect's father violate gun laws?

► Nearby shooting in September: Minister at Burnette Chapel, site of September shooting, reacts to Waffle House shooting: 'This is devastating news'

“He is the baby,” she said.

Now that he is grown, he is a lot like his dad, Brittani Shaw said. James Shaw is an electrician and rarely does he outwardly put his emotions on display.

James Shaw Jr. also works as an electrician and isn’t much different in his display of emotion, Brittani Shaw said.

But Shaw Jr. cried the second time when he talked to his daughter Brooklyn.

“Today when he saw Brooklyn, that’s the first time we saw him shed a tear. He tried to act all big and bad about the situation,” Brittani Shaw said. “The first-time Brooklyn FaceTimed him, that’s when he broke down. I can tell you how much she means to him.”

Shaw ended up at the Waffle House after a night out

Shaw Jr. found himself at the Murfreesboro Pike Waffle House after leaving a packed nearby Bell Road Waffle House. He and McMurry walked into the Murfreesboro Pike Waffle House at about 3:20 a.m.

Chaos broke out just minutes later.

Police say Travis Reinking, 29, opened fire at about 3:25 a.m. Shaw Jr. believed the noise came from one of the employees dropping dishes. He couldn’t recall how many shots there were, just that a man was on the floor.

Shaw Jr. said he jumped toward the bathroom and the suspect shot in that direction. He said he was grazed by a bullet.

"I remember I was like ‘Dang, I’m basically in a barrel,’ ” Shaw Jr. said. “There is no place for me to go.”

As the suspect came through the door, he needed to reload, Shaw Jr. said. That’s when he said he rushed him.

“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.”

He pushed the gunman out the door after a brief tussle. The man, naked from the waist down, walked away, Shaw Jr. said. He didn’t follow the shooter, fearing he had another gun.

Police continued to search for Reinking on Sunday evening and issued homicide warrants for the four victims.

Shaw Jr. received a phone call from Nashville Mayor David Briley after the shooting.

The hero invited Briley to the Nashville church he has attended since he was a baby.

With Briley by his side, Shaw Jr. cried for the third time during the church service.

Friends and family gathered at church with Shaw Jr.

During the 10 a.m. church service, friends and fraternity brothers flocked to see Shaw Jr.

Over 10 fraternity brothers went to the church to see him, with his hand wrapped, but bleeding from the burns and altercation.

Johnathon Washington, 28, said the two have grown closer over the years sharing stories of raising kids.

“What he did, it never crossed my mind as something he wouldn’t have done,” Washington said. “He’s a man of honor.”

► Waffle House shooting: Police release names of victims killed in Nashville attack

Shaw Jr., even after being called a hero, didn’t want to take credit for saving those that were at the Waffle House.

When asked to describe himself by reporters at a 2 p.m. news conference, Shaw Jr. said he’s a pretty cool guy. He also said that the only combat training he has is wrestling his daughter to bed.

During the news conference, the fourth time that day, Shaw Jr. cried.

“I choose to react because I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to live. I didn’t really fight that man to save everyone else. That might not be a popular thing to say,” Shaw Jr. said.

No one, including Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson at the news conference, agreed.

Shaw Jr., Anderson said, is a hero.

Adam Tamburin contributed to this story.

Location of Antioch Waffle House shooting

Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.

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