These Are the Waffle House Shooting Victims
On Sunday, a man shot outside of and into a Tennessee Waffle House, killing four young people of color and injuring at least four others, CNN reports. The alleged shooter was captured today after an hours-long manhunt.
In the wake of the shooting, James Shaw Jr., 29, is being hailed as a hero. He wrestled the AR-15 out of the shooter's hands after being shot and burned by the barrel of the gun. "I just knew I just had to get that away from him," Shaw Jr. told the TODAY show on Monday. "Later on I learned he had other magazines in his gun and could have reloaded, so I'm glad I acted."
The victims were identified today: Akilah DaSilva, 23; DeEbony Groves, 21; Joe R. Perez, 20; and Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29.
Akilah DaSilva
According to CBS News, DaSilva, 23, was critically injured inside the restaurant and died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shortly after. He was studying musical engineering at Middle Tennessee State University.
"He meant the world us. He was humble, kind, compassionate, outgoing and very creative. We could describe him in so many words. He spoke through his creativity and he entertained the world through his music," his mother Shaundelle Brooks told the station.
DeEbony Groves
CNN reports Groves, 21, was fatally injured inside the Waffle House. She'd reportedly been out with her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters before heading to the restaurant.
Groves was a senior at Belmont University where she was studying social work and set to graduate next month. A friend who went to high school with her told The Tennesseean "[Groves] was a brilliant young lady, very, very intelligent and a very hard worker."
Joe R. Perez
Perez, 20, was reportedly shot and killed outside the restaurant. According to BuzzFeed, he was working as a subcontractor in Nashville.
His mother took to Facebook to express her grief: "Please say a prayer for my family for today is the hardest day of my life. Me, my husband and sons are broken right now with this loss. Our lives are shattered," she wrote.
Taurean C. Sanderlin
The Tennessean reports Sanderlin, 29, was a Waffle House employee who was standing outside the restaurant when he was fatally shot. Not much has been confirmed yet about his personal life, but according to BuzzFeed, Sanderlin's friends called him "T."
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