Friend describes how man hailed as Waffle House hero wrested AR-15 from gunman
'He grabbed the barrel of the gun,' says Brennan McMurry of his friend's brazen act to stop shooter
In the early hours of Sunday morning, a man entered a Waffle House outside of Nashville, Tenn., and started shooting. Four people were killed.
On Monday, police arrested Travis Reinking, the man they believe is responsible.
But the number of deaths could have been much higher if it hadn't been for one customer. James Shaw Jr. rushed the gunman and managed to disarm him. Here he is describing that moment:
Many, including the state legislature and the Waffle House CEO, have branded him a hero — but Shaw Jr. insisted during a press conference that he acted to save his own life, and saved others in the process.
Brennan McMurry is a friend of Shaw Jr., and was with him during the shooting. He spoke with As it Happens host Carol Off from Nashville.
Let's go back to what happened — this is early Sunday morning. When did you realize something awful was happening?
We walked into the Waffle House a little bit before 3:30 in the morning. We actually went to another Waffle House before that but it was extremely packed. So we left that one and went to the Murfreesboro road location to get a bite to eat.
We literally were in there maybe a minute-and-a-half, two minutes, before things went downhill.
The glass shattered, and then there's a big cloud of smoke. And then you start hearing the gunshots.
We understand the shooter started shooting and killing people outside the Waffle House before he came in. Those were the first shots you heard?
Correct. So you hear loud noises, but you're not thinking anything. The main road is behind you. And you're looking at the counter. When the glass shattered, though, I think that's when everyone realized that's not normal course of business. Things had escalated very quickly.
You and your friend, James Shaw — where did you go to hide?
The way that the Waffle House is set up, there's one door that you come in — it's kind of a double-paned door. So you walk in one door, turn the corner and walk in another.
We ran past that door to the back entrance where the bathrooms are. Me and another guy were trying to break into the back door that leads into the kitchen. We couldn't get into it.
And then the shots started getting louder, as if they were inside now. So then I just yelled out, "Everyone get into the bathrooms!" — and locked the door, thinking that James was there the whole time. But he wasn't. So I was like, "He's got to be in the other bathroom."
How long were you in the bathroom?
The shots were ringing for probably 15 to 20 seconds. But then they stopped. I guess that's when James took his opportunity to go.
When did you learn that your friend had done this act of heroism of grabbing the gun and tossing it over the counter?
When I yelled for everyone to walk back into the bathroom and lock the doors until the police came, probably a few seconds after that, James came back into the restaurant yelling "BJ! BJ! BJ!"
I know his voice. So I unlocked the door, he's like "Hey, we got to go. We got to go."
He grabbed the barrel of the gun that was just discharged. The barrel was extremely hot. He has a second-degree burn on his hand.- Brennan McMurry
So then we go outside. I've already seen the lady sitting in the restaurant. She's dead. Another lady, her head's cocked back. I thought at the time that she was potentially dead.
We walked through the door of the Waffle House. Another guy, dead. That's when the first responders arrived.
It was at that point James told me he had wrestled with the gunman.
How did he hurt his arm?
When he was scuffling with the gunman, when the gunman put his barrel down toward the ground — I guess it either got jammed or he was reloading — James finally yanked it away. And that's how he hurt his hand. He grabbed the barrel of the gun that was just discharged.
The barrel was extremely hot. He has a second-degree burn on his hand.
How are you both doing?
We both have two young children. Just the fact that we got to go home, that's definitely brightening our days.
We're tired, but we're thankful. And that thanks and that grace is what's pushing us through today.
Written by Kevin Ball and Sarah Jackson. Interview produced by Sarah Jackson. Q&A edited for clarity.