A teary-eyed Steve Harvey has sent for him. Talk show host Ellen Degeneres has applauded him and introduced him to NBA basketball player DeWayne Wade. The Tennessee State and House have praised him, while NFL’s Nashville Predators Hockey Team lauded him as a star.
Waffle House “Hero” James Shaw, Jr. avoids the title he has earned and says his act of bravery was simply to save himself, but in doing so, Shaw saved many lives by disarming a mentally ill shooter. Four American citizens lost their young lives in the Waffle House shooting that happened in Antioch, Tenn.
“I kind of made up my mind, because there was no way to lock that door, that if it was going to come down to it, he was going to work to kill me,” Shaw said to the Tennessean newspaper.
Despite many citizens who saluted Shaw, the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has not uttered a word of thanks to the native role model. Trump has not acknowledged this man in any form, with a telephone call, e-mail, invite to the White House or even have a tweet about the dramatic situation, which could have been a larger disaster.
Shaw, 29, took down the half-naked, Morton, IL gunman, Travis Reinking, 29, in a scuffle in the Waffle House, where Shaw wrestled the AR-15 gun away from Reinking on April 22nd, reported The Tennessean newspaper.
Reinking was charged with four criminal counts of homicide and given a $2 million dollar bond, reported USA Today. His Tazewell county parents, Jeffrey and Judith Reinking, along with their attorney, released a statement saying that they were praying for all involved.
Travis had previously had an encounter with the FBI for roaming around the White House on an off-limits area. Although Travis’ Illinois identification card had been revoked, his four guns had been returned to him allegedly by his father, reported the Tennessean newspaper.
On the Ellen Degeneres Show, Wade hailed Shaw as a hero, while Ellen called him brave.
Wade also gave Shaw a check for $20,000 for the GoFundMe campaign, which was started by New York reporter Yashar Ali, for the four victims’ burial fund and Shaw’s four year-old daughter.
Ellen presented a check to Shaw for $235,000. People keep giving donations, which were to cover all funeral expenses for the young people who lost their lives.
On the Ellen show, Shaw said he wants to use his newfound celebrity to bring awareness to mental awareness. He articulated his position in this manner by saying, “It’s a mental health problem that the United States as a whole has; 1 in 5 individuals in the United States suffer from some kind of mental disorder. That’s close to like 45 million people. So that’s a very large and eye-raising problem. So I want to bring some kind of awareness to it,” he said.
Steve Harvey coordinated efforts between Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels, The Waffle House, and Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. to send Shaw and his daughter, Brooklyn, on a vacation to Barbados, reported USA Today.
The victims from the Waffle House Shootings were:
*Waffle House employee Taurean Sanderlin, 29, who was killed in the parking lot.
*Waffle House customer Joe R. Perez, 20, of Nashville, Tenn., who was also shot in the parking lot.
*Akilah “Natrix” DaSilva, 21, was a music engineering student at Middle Tennessee State University. He was killed inside of the restaurant.
*And Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member DeEbony Groves, 21, who would have graduated with her degree in social work from Belmont University. She was a star basketball player in high school and singing gospel songs at the time of her death, reported USA Today newspaper.
Groves would have graduated with her brother from Belmont University on May 6th. Her mother walked across the stage and accepted her daughter’s college degree.
We, at the Traveler Weekly, have empathy for four very young lives that were lost to senseless gun violence. We also want to salute Brother Shaw for being the vessel God sent to hide his other sheep in that restaurant. We will keep our readers updated and informed as this story continues throughout the year.
The Traveler Weekly 