Raymond Green.
Vance's family
says he had just landed a new job
and couldn't wait to save enough money
to get his own apartment.
They say he was a kind, selfless
young adult with his entire life
ahead of him.
He was at Club
Q with his longtime girlfriend
and her parents,
including her father, Richard Ferrero,
who did help stop the gunman.
But not before
Raymond was fatally wounded.
Now, Richard
and I spoke just before airtime.
And I do want to warn you,
it is a raw, emotional discussion.
And what he describes is as graphic
as you might imagine.
Major Fierro,
so take us back to
when the gunman first entered the club.
What happened?
Because you're quoted The New York Times
as saying you went into combat mode.
What instincts kicked in
from your tours in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Listen, first
of all, I just want to say, this is
this is in no way about me.
My daughter is grieving
the loss of her boyfriend.
He was in our lives for six years.
Raymond was a great young man.
He was
he was in his way to do
some amazing things.
And for me, right
now, it's about healing.
I have two friends still in the hospital
that were shot,
my best friends
here in this week,
my whole Colorado Springs
family was there.
And so what I think I was doing
was protecting my family,
which is what I do.
And sometimes to a fault.
And I do things because I,
you know, I'm fight or flight.
I think I tend to go fight a lot more.
And it's not it's
I don't know if it's good or not.
Does it matter
either way?
I went to the ground
because as soon as I heard the rounds,
I dove down.
I pushed over my friend
the best I could,
and we both hit the ground manship.
I put my back against.
I fell. I tried to stand up and I fell.
And then I fell against the.
It's like a bench seating.
And I
and I at that point, I saw the shooter.
I had no idea what was going on.
But apparently I saw him
going to the patio
because I saw a lot of people
in the window.
It may not even been a window,
but I saw a lot of people
and this guy was there
and I saw the AC pattern like this.
And for me,
that was like, there's a handle.
I'm getting it.
So I ran across the room,
grabbed the handle, pulled him down,
and then started to well, actually,
I think I went for its gun with him.
His rifle flew in front of him.
And the young
man that tried to jump in there with me.
He he
we both either
pulled him down or whatever,
but he ended up at his head
in right next to the air.
And then with the air,
he we
I told him, push the air,
get the airway away from the kid.
Push the air.
I don't know what his name was.
And then I proceeded to take his
other weapon,
the pistol,
and then just start hitting him
where I could with the armors in the way.
And I just started
I found a Christian between his his armor
and his head.
And I just started wailing away
with his gun.
And then I told the kid in front of me,
kick him, keep kicking him.
And we were
I was
I was going to get what
some people call 911 call number one.
I brought him down.
I, I was in mode.
I was I was doing what I did.
I do down range.
You know, I trained for this.
I don't want him to ever do this.
I didn't even retire because I was just
I was done doing this stuff.
It was too much. And
I,
you know, it came in handy
and I got to protect my my kid.
I lost my kids boyfriend.
I tried
I tried to everybody in there,
I still feel bad.
It was five,
you see, it's five people
that didn't go through.
And this
this way I told them, what did you see?
I will kill you, man,
because you tried to kill my friends.
My family was in there.
My little girl was in there with her.
We are so sorry
for the loss
that you and your family
have gone through.
So the loss of your daughter's boyfriend
and we are so sorry for your two friends
that are still recovering in there.
And I can't imagine going through
what you and your family did
even with your training.
You're training was for war zones.
You trained to do that
in combat.
You know,
not out for a night on the town.
Yeah, but it lives in you.
If you actually do this stuff,
it's in you.
I was proud to be a soldier. I don't.
I don't like these guys
running around here doing GI Joe stuff.
And they're not.
I'm not a G.I. Joe.
I'm just a normal guy, man.
I'm protecting my family.
And I reached up in an A
and I and I did what I had to do.
And honestly, I don't
I don't care about myself in that moment.
I cared about everybody
that was around me
and I cared especially about my family.
As soon as I got done with that guy
and the cop came
in, I went across the room and started
first aid with my with my friend
who was shot in the
in the chest and the legs in the arms.
And I told Joann, stay with me.
Look me in the eye, stay with me.
And I moved her heads
as you wouldn't see her
because she was shot.
It Chip was right there.
Her husband was reaching for her.
So I put her hand in his head
so that they could be together.
I didn't know what
they're going to think it
is.
It's this guy.
This whole thing was like my daughter.
Wife should have never experienced combat
in Colorado Springs
and everybody
in that building experienced combat
that night,
not to their own accord,
but because they were forced to.
And I told my daughter for me down range,
she was always,
hey, get in the next patrol,
get in the next patrol
and you're done the get over it.
You're the next patrol.
They don't have that option.
Nobody in that building
has the option to get on the next patrol.
They have to live with this now
to whatever the.
It's a lot for any human man.
This kid was helping
me, was kicking
another human in the head.
And I told him to do it.
I don't I don't know what to do.
You know, I
there was a beautiful
one of the other performers
was walking by
when the kid was getting tired of kicking
and she did she helped and kicked him
with the high heels that she had on
and then ran
because she's probably scared.
I don't know what's going on in there.
I was trying to get people
to call the police
and that was it.
I told the mayor, I'm not I'm not
I'm not a hero.
I'm just
a guy that wanted to protect his kids
and his wife.
And I still didn't
get to protect your boyfriend.
Major,
you helped a lot of people.
You helped a lot of people.
And no one should ever, ever
go through what you or your family
or the people in that bar
went through that night.
Tell us about
tell us about Raymond Vance.
Tell us about your daughter's boyfriend.
How how will you remember him?
I'm older and
they're they're going through a lot.
And she's a she's 22,
which I love this boy.
She's been with it.
So we went to go see her junior prom date
a little Wyatt
kid was with her since elementary school.
We got here at 27
when I was still in the army y.
It's been with you the whole time.
Her best friend.
We went to go see perform a drag show.
He was amazing, great kid.
And then this happens.
And my daughter is her prom date.
Her boyfriend
that she's been with forever, her mom.
We were telling her that
we thought he was out there somewhere.
So he came by our house.
We were at the hospital.
I was still with the cops
that I'm trying to get.
How do we get Raymond?
We're so sorry. I'm just so sorry.
I see.
I see
someone's rubbing your shoulder there.
How are your wife?
How are your wife and daughter doing?
They're hurting.
They're.
They're hurting.
But we had to do what we can't.
And we're strong, man.
We were. You are that.
I told the three of them
when we were on our way
home from the hospital that appropriately
I said we got to be strong
for the three of us.
And last night
when me and my daughter broke down,
we both told each other,
we're going to be there
for each other the whole time
because we still got to keep this guy.
I mean, we had to basically court.
I don't know.
I feel no, I felt no, no.
Sorry for that, dude.
I hope he's in the hospital hurting
because he'll
kill a family.
So,
major, you've been strong
for a lot of people now.
People are going to be there for you
and help
take care of you
and you're going
to take care of your brother
through this.
I know it's not easy and I know it's it's
going to be a tough
several days and weeks and months
and some of the pain
is never going to go away.
But you helped a lot of people.
You helped a lot of people.
And I want to thank you
for what you've done,
and I want to thank you
for talking to us tonight.
And please take care of yourself,
your wife and daughter.
Give them giant hugs for us
before you go.
I do.
I want to apologize
for the people that didn't get their kids
because all of them
deserve to have their kids home tonight.
So
there's no question about that.
All those people deserve to be home
with their families
tonight, and they're not.
Former Army Major Richard Fierro, again,
thank you for what you did.
Thank you.
You are a hero.
Our best to you and your family.
Thank you.