Chris Mintz, an Army veteran, was shot seven times when he charged straight at the gunman in an effort to save other students during the shooting rampage at Umpqua Community College Thursday morning.
Mr. Mintz, 30, “tried to protect some people,” his aunt Sheila Brown told NBC News. “We were told he did heroic things to protect some people.”
Ms. Brown said Mr. Mintz was shot seven times and has been in surgery since the shooting that left 10 dead at the Oregon community college.
The 10-year Army veteran reportedly charged the gunman, Chris Harper Mercer, and risked his own life on his son Tyrik’s 6th birthday.
“It’s my son’s birthday, it’s my son’s birthday” he was heard saying as he lay wounded, The Daily Beast reported.
When word of Mr. Mintz’s actions reached his family in his hometown of Randleman, North Carolina, his cousin Derek Bourgeois said he was hardly surprised.
SEE ALSO: Chris Harper Mercer identified as Umpqua Community College shooter
“It sounds like something he would do,” Mr. Bourgeois said, The Daily Beast reported.
He was shot in the back, abdomen and hands, and had two broken legs, Ms. Brown said.
“We’re not sure how his legs got broken,” she told NBC. “He was on the wrestling team and he’s done cage-fighting, so it does not surprise me that he would act heroically.”
Mr. Bourgeois told The Daily Beast he and Mr. Mintz had joined the Army after graduating high school. Mr. Bourgeois said he had been stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, but Mr. Mintz had been sent to Fort Lewis in Washington state. They both served deployments.
After leaving the Army, Mr. Mintz moved to Oregon, where he practiced mixed martial arts. He was working at the local YMCA while he enrolled at the community college in hopes of becoming a fitness trainer.
Nine people were killed and seven wounded in the attack. Mercer, 26, reportedly singled out Christians for execution.
The gunman killed himself during a firefight with Douglas County sheriff’s deputies.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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