James Shaw Jr.

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James Shaw Jr.
Born1988 or 1989 (age 34–35)[1]
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
EducationBrightwood College
Tennessee State University
OccupationElectrical technician
EmployerAT&T
Known forDisarming the gunman and saving lives during the Nashville Waffle House shooting[2][3]
Children1
AwardsBET Humanitarian Award (2018)

James Shaw Jr. is an American electrical technician. Shaw is known for disarming a gunman armed with a Bushmaster XM-15 during the 2018 Nashville Waffle House shooting in Antioch, Tennessee, potentially saving lives as a result.[3][4]

Early life and education[edit]

James Shaw Jr. was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended Hunters Lane High School.[5] Shaw graduated from Tennessee State University.[6] He has a daughter.[5]

Career[edit]

Shaw began working in the electrical field at the age of 18. In an interview, Shaw stated that "... I've been destroying stuff and putting it back together since I was a little kid. I would take stuff apart and just hope I could reassemble it."[6] He began working at AT&T as a wire technician[5] after graduating from Tennessee State University. At AT&T, Shaw installs internet, television, and phone connections in residences. He also manages his own company, Imount Electric.[6]

Nashville Waffle House shooting[edit]

Shaw and his friend BJ McMurry went to the Waffle House on the Murfreesboro Pike in the Nashville suburb of Antioch at 3 a.m. CDT. 25 minutes later, he heard a loud pop and a window breaking, which he thought was dishes crashing, but after two more pops and more glass shattering, Shaw realized the sounds were gunshots.

When the shooting started, Shaw looked toward the main entrance and saw a person lying on the ground. He and McMurry sprinted toward the restroom, and McMurry and four other patrons took cover. After a bullet grazed his elbow, Shaw realized there was no exit or any way to lock the restroom hallway door.

When Shaw saw the gunman point the rifle down, either to reload or fix a jam, he lunged at the gunman and wrestled the weapon away from him before tossing it over the counter, sustaining second-degree burns from grabbing the hot rifle barrel. The two scuffled before the gunman fled on foot naked after abandoning his jacket. The gunman was captured by police a day later after a manhunt lasting almost 24 hours.[7]

While four people died in the attack (Akilah DaSilva, DeEbony Groves, Joe Perez and Taurean Sanderlin), it is likely that Shaw's action saved the lives of more restaurant patrons. Afterwards, he established a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the families of the four victims.[1] Total donations raised by Shaw surpassed US$200,000 in early May 2018.[8] While he has been described as a hero by numerous people, including Tennessee authorities, he has said that he does not think of himself in those terms:[1][9]

I did that completely out of a selfish act. I was completely doing it just to save myself. Now, me doing that, I did save other people.

— James Shaw Jr., April 23, 2018[1]

Awards and honors[edit]

Shaw was honored by the president of Tennessee State University who praised Shaw for his "bravery and courage" and for saving many lives.[10] He was honored by Tennessee lawmakers who passed a joint resolution honoring Shaw's actions.[11][12] He appeared on national cable TV news shows and was honored at a game featuring the Nashville Predators.[10] Shaw appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he met NBA basketball star Dwyane Wade.[2] The Steve Harvey Show sent him on a trip to the island of Barbados.[10] In April 2018, Waffle House tweeted "Yes. We will be doing things for Mr. Shaw. Details have not be finalized yet!".[13] Details were not revealed.

In May 2018, Shaw met with X González, who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and anti-gun activist who helped to found Never Again MSD. González had previously called Shaw "my hero" in a tweet. Together, along with survivors and activists David Hogg, Alex Wind, and Jaclyn Corin among others, the whole group united for a special brunch at a local Denny's in suburban Nashville. [3] Tennessee State University set up a scholarship fund in his name.[11][14] The following month, at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, after Chadwick Boseman won an award for "Best Hero" for his work in Black Panther,, but made a statement saying "Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing, but it's even greater to acknowledge the heroes that we have in real life" before called Shaw up to the stage and gave him the award saying "This is gonna live at your house".[15] Shaw was presented a Gold Vail Award by Randall L. Stephenson, the Chief Executive Officer of AT&T.[16] In 2018, he received a BET Humanitarian Award.[17]

Shaw participated in the 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Charlotte, North Carolina as an inaugural "Hometown Hero", scoring 8 points with 5 rebounds and posting the game's highest plus-minus with a +15.[18][19]

Also in 2019, Shaw expressed interest in running in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election.[20] He was awarded the Special Courage Award from the United States Department of Justice in April of that year.[21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Chappell, Bill (April 23, 2018). "'I'm Not A Hero,' Says James Shaw Jr., Acclaimed As Hero Of Waffle House Attack". NPR. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... many others are calling him a hero for stopping the violence. ... Shaw, 29, is the father of a young girl and lives in Nashville, according to his Facebook page. He attended Tennessee State University and works as a technician for AT&T. ...
  2. ^ a b Jackson, Amanda (May 2, 2018). "Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. meets his idol, Dwyane Wade, on 'Ellen'". CNN. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... James Shaw Jr., the man who grabbed a gun from the Waffle House shooter last month, appeared on "The Ellen Show" today and met his idol, Dwyane Wade. ...
  3. ^ a b c Cullen, Terence (May 13, 2018). "Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. meets with Parkland shooting survivors". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... The 29-year-old Nashville resident posted a photo of himself in Florida with several students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed in a Feb. 14 mass shooting ... Shaw posted a photo of himself with Gonzalez on Saturday, saying he "met one of my heros today.
  4. ^ "Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. who grabbed gun may get invitation to the White House". USA Today. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c D'Angelo, Bob (April 22, 2018). "Who is James Shaw Jr., the man who disarmed the Waffle House shooter?". ajc. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "James Shaw: Brightwood College Electrical Technician Graduate to Waffle House Hero". Brightwood College. July 27, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Blinder, Alan (April 23, 2018). "'I Just Wanted to Live,' Says Man Who Wrested Rifle From Waffle House Gunman". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Enchassi, Nadia Judith (April 30, 2018). "Waffle House shooting hero James Shaw Jr. raises more than $200K for victims". KFOR.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... The GoFundMe campaign, by Thursday afternoon, had raked in just under $165,000 – 11 times its goal – since the attack last Sunday left four people dead. That number is now over $212,000. ...
  9. ^ "Nashville Waffle House: James Shaw denies heroism". BBC. April 23, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... He then hid in the restaurant's toilet area but the gunman shot through the door, injuring his arm. ... A customer who wrestled a gun from a naked attacker who killed four people at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday has described his deed as a 'selfish act'
  10. ^ a b c Bratten, Clare (May 10, 2018). "James Shaw, Jr. – Hero to His Mother, His Alma Mater, His Community". The Tennessee Tribune. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Murphy, Paul P. (May 8, 2018). "The hero who stopped the Waffle House shooting has raised more than $230,000 for its victims' families". CNN. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... Shaw's alma mater, Tennessee State University, is setting up a scholarship fund in his name. Tennessee lawmakers also passed a joint resolution hailing Shaw's courageous actions. ...
  12. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott C. (April 24, 2018). "For Waffle House bravery, lawmakers hail James Shaw Jr. as 'Tennessee's hero'". CNN. Retrieved May 13, 2018. ... Shaw, of course, returned to the dining area, where he wrested a rifle away from the gunman and tossed it over the counter before shoving the shooter out the door early Sunday. ...
  13. ^ Waffle House [@wafflehouse] (April 24, 2018). "Yes. We will be doing things for Mr. Shaw. Details have not be finalized yet!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 1, 2022 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Scholarship fund webpage
  15. ^ "Chadwick Boseman Acknowledges Waffle House Shooting Hero James Shaw Jr. | MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  16. ^ Quigley, Aidan (July 23, 2018). "AT&T honors employees who helped others during Waffle House and Las Vegas shootings". Dallas News. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  17. ^ Thanki, Juli (June 22, 2018). "James Shaw Jr. named BET Humanitarian Hero". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  18. ^ "ESPN and NBA announce celebrity rosters and coaches for 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented by Ruffles exclusively on ESPN". NBA.com.
  19. ^ "r/MkeBucks - 2019 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game box score - recap: Despite Marc Lasry posting a freakish 0/2/0/2/0 line and Ray Allen chipping in with 24/9/5/1/1 (and late-game heroics), our Away (0-1) is narrowly defeated by Home (1-0) by the score of 80-82 - 02/15/2019 GO AWAY (team)!". reddit.
  20. ^ "'Waffle House Hero' James Shaw Jr. Considers Running For Mayor". CBS News New York. November 8, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  21. ^ Bowles, Laken (April 13, 2019). "James Shaw receives courage award from Justice Department". News Channel 5. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
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