Tell us what happened.
Take us to that night.
What time was is?
What were you doing there?
What was going on?
So me and my best friend, Brennan,
we were actually out at a lounge.
And we had already went to a Waffle House before that.
We went to a Waffle House closer to the lounge.
That Waffle House was packed.
So we decided to go to another Waffle House.
This was about 3:17.
And at that time, we walked into the Waffle House.
And we actually saw the shooter.
But we didn't think anything of it.
So we walked in.
We saw the cook.
The cook was cooking and washing dishes.
And then one of the cooks actually went on break,
said he was going to have a cigarette,
and he'll be right back.
We thought that dishes crashed to the ground.
But it was actually gunshots.
And after the gunshots started, it was kind of a lot of chaos.
And then at what point did you realize that it
was gunshot and not dishes?
When the workers started to disperse and tried to take
cover.
And then I looked back, and I saw a gentleman right there
at the entrance.
And he was no longer alive.
You saw someone on the floor?
Yes, ma'am.
OK, so then what do you do?
After that, the glass was broke from another shot, and--
Because he was shooting from outside?
Yes.
The glass was broke from another shot.
And pretty much, I jumped from the table tops, the counter.
And I jumped to the entrance of the bathroom hallway.
OK, so at what point did you make this decision
to charge the shooter?
So at one point in time, the shooter
panned back to the right.
And he shot to the right.
And he shot through the glass.
And one of the bullets actually grazed my right arm,
near my elbow.
And then after that, I just remember
becoming totally relaxed.
And I just said, I need to keep an eye on him.
And I looked through the window, and he had the barrel
pointed down.
And then I saw him reloading.
And you knew you were shot at that point?
Not really.
It was really kind of a blur.
Mm-hm.
OK, so you see him reloading.
And you think, that's my chance to go at him?
Yeah, I had a voice in my head that said, do it now.
Do it now.
And I took the opportunity.
But it was just you by yourself.
It wasn't, like, anybody with you saying, let's do this.
It was just you saying, I'm going to do this.
Yes, ma'am.
So you go and grab the gun.
You burned your hand, because it was so hot from firing
that you burned your hand when you grabbed it, right?
Yeah, so I received second-degree burns
on my right hand.
Ooh, yeah.
I can see that.
And then I got a couple of other scrapes and bruises, but--
So you tossed the gun.
You threw it over the counter, or something like that.
And then you had him on the ground?
So I'm pretty sure we were never on the ground.
I think we were just tussling and wrestling for the gun.
And then once I got it, I threw it over the counter top.
And then he ran.
I pushed him and myself outside, because I
wanted to get to safety, and I knew safety was outside.
Right.
Wow.
You're a brave man.
You're a really brave man.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
Your friend is here with you today that was with you?
Yeah, Brennan, he is here.
I can never get rid of him now.
No, he can't.
[LAUGHTER]
And so when people say you're a hero, how
does that sound to you?
So the whole hero thing is, I don't have a problem with it.
It's just that if you're in that same situation,
I want you to know that a regular guy did it.
And I want you to emulate that same thing
and know you have that fire inside yourself.
[APPLAUSE]
Amazing.
All right.
So you started raising money for the people that were killed.
There were four people that died from this.
And you started-- not only does he step in and do this,
but he starts a GoFundMe to pay for funerals
for the people that were shot.
And for the families, you raised $215,000.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, thank you.
I mean, so he does this, and raises money for the families
and for funerals.
And then some people decided to start a GoFundMe for you,
to raise money for you and your daughter.
And so over 6,000 strangers have chipped in.
And now, I think it's $205,000 that they've raised for you.
[APPLAUSE]
And our friends at Shutterfly were inspired by you.
And they want to add $20,000 to that GoFundMe.
[CHEERING]
Thank you.
By the way, I should mention that the journalist Yashar
Ali started this for you.
And so it brings the total to $225,000.
So today, we're giving you that check for $225,000.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
Listen, the campaigns are ongoing.
So go to our website to learn how you can donate.