"My friend BJ and I leave this lounge in Nashville around 2:50 a.m. Were hungry, so we go to a Waffle House. We sit at the counter, and there are people over my right and left shoulders in booths. We can see the cook in the back. Hes washing dishes and hes stacking clean plates on the cooktop.
Then we hear this bang, what we think is the plates crashing to the ground. But in my right periphery I see a man fall to the ground; then I hear a huge boom and one of the restaurants windows explodes like glitter being thrown into the air. Someone is shooting from outside into the restaurant.
People have been hit. Everyone ducks and takes cover and goes frantic. Some people flee into the bathroom, others into a back hall. I jump up and get behind a silver swinging door that leads back to the kitchen. As Im moving, I can see the person enter the restaurant holding an AR-15 rifle.
I hear a huge boom and one of the restaurants windows explodes like glitter being thrown into the a
Hes shooting. He shoots toward me and one shot grazes me. Then the shooting stops. The shooter is changing his clip. And in the moment, I have this feeling of total relaxation, the most relaxed Ive ever felt.
And I have this voice in my head telling me that I need to make a difference. I run right at the shooter. I knock him back. Then we start tussling for the gun. I work out, and before this my frat brothers and I had really focused on lifting weights five times a week and getting into good shape. We were preparing for a beach trip to Miami. That training comes into play.
Im able to get my left hand around the shooters throat. With my right hand, I grab the barrel of the gun-its hot and it burns me-and I point it down toward the floor. Then in one motion I let his neck go, grab the gun, twist the gun, and quickly push it up to get control of it.
The shooter grabs me, but Im able to throw the gun far over the counter. I then grab him and push him and myself out of the restaurants door. I take him to the ground and then run away, because I dont know if he has another gun.
I see a man bleeding from his gut, another man shot in his head.
The shooter takes off into the woods (and is later apprehended). I ask someone in a car to please, please, please call the police.
Then I go back into the Waffle House to find BJ and to help people. Its unbelievably quiet. I see a man bleeding from his gut, another man shot in his head. Theres another man lying facedown and not moving.
I find BJ. People around us were shot multiple times. There ended up being four victims who passed away from their wounds.
The whole incident took 42 seconds, and the shooter shot 30 times. He had two more clips with 32 shots each. I still work out five times a week.