We Need a Hero.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | April 23, 2018

No. 1,475

Image: wsmv.com

James Shaw, Jr., a 29 year-old college student, rushed a gunman at a Waffle House when he saw him stop to reload.  He struggled and wrested the assault rifle from the hands of the shooter and threw it over the counter. It was just like in the movies.

In an interview, he stated that his motives were purely selfish.  If he was going to kill me, he said, he was going to have to work for it.

But, to the rest of us, a hero he is.  He had no time to weigh the pros and cons of counterattacking without a weapon.  He saw an opportunity and in a second, he took it.

In just about every mass shooting, we later learn that people have stepped forward and done heroic things in response to violence. Sometimes the heroic person fails and dies, perhaps trying to act as a human shield. But until it happens, we never know in whom that potential resides.

That’s a comforting thought, really.  There are people around us who in an emergency will risk their own lives.  Who knows?  You or I might actually be one of them. May that always be a mystery.

CLT

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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