A high school student athlete died a hero on Monday after rushing a school shooter in an attempt to stop the deadly siege.
When a 15-year-old gunman opened fire at Oxford High School in Michigan on Monday, 16-year-old Tate Myre ran toward the shooter, according to witnesses, USA Today reported.
“I was told that everybody in that school was running one way, and Tate was running the other way,” said Ross Wingert, who coached the young hero in football and wrestling.
After the shooting, Buck Myre, Tate’s dad, had a premonition about his son while searching for him at a nearby Meijer grocery store, which was established as a staging ground for survivors.
“Buck looked right at me and he said: ‘You know who would go take that guy out, right?’” said JR Laefner, the public address announcer at Oxford football games and a friend of the Myre family.
“I know,” Laefner responded.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department later confirmed that the young Myre had been shot. A sheriff’s deputy had reportedly placed Myre in his squad car and tried to rush him to a nearby hospital, but the teen hero died en route.
While Sheriff Mike Bouchard said there is no video evidence indicating that a student attempted to disarm the shooter, multiple students reported that they saw Myre rush the gunman.
“Tate was and will always be a beaming light for Oxford. It’s hard to put into words what he meant to me, but he will hold a special place in my heart forever,” Oxford football coach Zach Line tweeted. “God reaches down and touches certain people, he was one of those people. I love you FOUR TWO.”
According to Barstool Sports, Myre had a 3.9 GPA, 4.44s 40-yard dash, and benched 225×8. Just days before his death, Myre had taken a recruiting trip to Toledo.
“Had a great time at the Toledo game yesterday. Thank you @RickyCicconeUT @ToledoFB for the invite! @ReggieWynns @TheD_Zone,” Myre tweeted, along with a photo of himself on the field.
In the wake of the fatal shooting, a petition was created calling for Oxford High School to rename its football field after Myre. As of Thursday morning, the petition had over 120,000 signatures.
“Tate is not just a hero to his fellow students at Oxford high school but a legend, his act of bravery should be remembered forever and passed down through generations,” the petition stated. “He put his life in danger to try and help the thousands of other students at Oxford High School.”
