A TN dad who had just watched his son’s victorious Friday night homecoming game became a hero after he stopped a 16-year-old active shooter from spraying more bullets.
Patrick Shields, a U.S. Army veteran with three deployments in his 22 years of service, presently serves in the Brownsville National Guard, the Jackson Sun reported. He spotted the shooter who was holding a gun after firing four times.
“My brother and I were cleaning up, and we heard a bunch of kids hollering and yelling across the street at Walgreen’s, but we didn’t know what was going on. Then we heard sounds like fireworks … like pow pow pow. And I looked over there and saw the flame coming out of a pistol, and a bunch of the kids were running toward us,” said Shields.
Victims identified, hero recognized after shooting following high school football game in Tennessee https://t.co/Oqn4Rk68eo
— FOX13 Memphis (@FOX13Memphis) October 6, 2018
It only took the shooter a moment to dart past Shields, who had already come up with a plan to apprehend him, if given the opportunity.
“It looked like he was aiming for one person, but I don’t know who. They were all running toward us, but he wasn’t shooting in our direction. I grabbed him by the arm that was holding the gun and pulled him toward me and threw him up against the fence. Then I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and got him on the ground,” Shields said.
Brownsville Police Chief Barry Diebold said, “Mr. Shields’ quick thinking saved many lives.”
According to the Brownsville Police, Demetrius Harper and Cameshia Murphy were shot during the incident. Both were taken to the hospital, treated and released.
Police had already been dispatched to the scene around 9:30 p.m., near the Walgreens on East Main Street in Brownsville, but Shield’s brother notified them that the shooter was apprehended, Fox 13 reported.
When Brownsville Police Assistant Chief Kelvin Evans arrived on the scene, he placed the unidentified suspect in handcuffs and arrested him.
The juvenile shooter was charged with multiple felony counts, including reckless endangerment, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
Currently, the suspect remains in a juvenile detention center.
