As the problem of gun violence remians unsolved, shootings have become increasingly normalized in the United States. 

Reported gun violence doesn’t seem to surprise citizens anymore, but a man who singlehandedly disarmed an active shooter has gained the attention of the media. 

A hero, James Shaw Jr., took action in the midst of a deadly and tragic shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. We define heroism as one who acts with great bravery. Shaw  did just that by saving four lives at the Waffle House.

Shaw tackled the shooter to the ground and managed to strip away his gun, which prevented more lives from being lost. 

Authorities and the public have acknowledged and praised Shaw for his acts of bravery, but he wants people to know he’s just a regular guy. 

According to ABC News, Chief Steve Anderson of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said, “It’s beyond belief that he could charge that man and take that weapon from him…So I applaud him. It was a very brave thing to do and he saved lives.”

In an interview with CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, Shaw said, “It doesn’t take a hero to save the day. I just want to be put out there like a regular person…maybe then, if people find themselves in dangerous situations, they’ll find that same thing within them that they can project out.”

Shaw claims on his Instagram and Facebook that it was a selfish act to save his own life. He didn’t do it thinking it would save other lives in the process. 

“I was completely doing it just to save myself,” he said. “ I did save other people, but I don’t want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that. I figured if I was going to die, he was gonna have to work for it.”

If it wasn’t for Shaw’s act of bravery, the potential for more lives lost would have been significant. In a time of tragedy and fearing for his life, Shaw seized the moment

According to The Hill, a reporter named Yashar Ali started a GoFundMe page for Shaw right after the shooting occurred. Just 21 hours after the fundraiser started, it raised $105,072. 

Ali wrote on the page, “The money could be used to fund Shaw’s daughter’s education, and he would be just as happy if James used some of this money to take his family on a nice vacation.”

Shaw took it upon himself to start a GoFundMe page to raise money for the families of the victims affected by the tragic shooting. 

This fundraiser raised over $122,000 as of last Tuesday night.

Heroes like Shaw draw perspective on what it is truly like to fear for your own life during a shooting. Currently, you never know if your town, school or even favorite diner will be hit next. 

But if more of us were willing to create agency like Shaw, we could save our own lives and others in the process.