By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Richard Fierro got the shooter's pistol away from him and then repeatedly hit him to stop the attack that left five people dead.
Five people were killed and 25 injured on Saturday, as a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado. Richard Fierro was there with his wife and daughter when the shots rang out. He's the one who took the gunman down.
"I don't know exactly what I did, I just went into combat mode," Mr. Fierro told The New York times. "I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us."
Fierro said he was at the club with his wife and daughter, both of whom are recovering from injuries from the attack.
The 45-year-old is a former Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said his instincts kicked in.
"Was he shooting at the time? Was he about to shoot? I don't know," he told the paper. "I just knew I had to take him down."
He said that as bullets were spraying in the club, he ran toward the gunman, identified by police as Anderson Lee Aldrich, and pulled him down by the back of the suspect's body armor suit.
The gunman's military-style long gun landed nearby, but Fierro said he noticed he also had a pistol.
"I grabbed the gun out of his hand and just started hitting him in the head, over and over," Fierro said. He then yelled for help and others rushed to move the gun away from the shooter.
A trans woman stomped on the attacker with her heels on.
Fierro told the paper he kept hitting him with the gun. When police got there, the gunman had stopped struggling.
When authorities got there, they tackled him and handcuffed him. He was covered in blood.
The Times reports Fierro was awarded the Bronze Star twice. He explained that what he experienced as a soldier still haunts him.
"I was done with war," Fierro said, explaining that he thought he'd left that violence years ago.
This story is developing...
