A former U.S. Army officer stepped in and saved countless lives when he went into “combat mode” and stopped Saturday night’s mass shooting at a club in Colorado Springs.
Richard M. Fierro said his Army training took over when he neutralized the gunman who opened fire in Club Q.
During his military career, Fierro was deployed to Iraq three times and once to Afghanistan.
Fierro left the Army at the rank of major in 2012.
“I don’t know exactly what I did, I just went into combat mode,” he said.
“I just know I have to kill this guy before he kills us.
“It’s the reflex. Go! Go to the fire.
“Stop the action. Stop the activity.
“Don’t let no one get hurt.
“I tried to bring everybody back,” he revealed.
“If you actually do this stuff, it’s in you.
“I was proud to be a soldier.
“I don’t, I don’t like these guys running around here doing GI Joe stuff, and they’re not.
“I’m not a GI Joe. I’m just a normal guy, man.
“I’m protecting my family,” he said.
“And I reached up and I did what I had to do.
“And and honestly, I don’t I don’t care about myself in that moment.
“I cared about everybody that was around me and I cared, especially about my family.
“As soon as I got done with that guy and the cop came in, I went across the room and started first aid with my friend who was shot in the chest and the legs in the arms.
“I’m straight. My kids are straight, but we go there…
“Why? Because it’s about community.”
"I did what I had to do."
Richard M. Fierro, one of the men who tackled the gunman in the Colorado Springs Club Q shooting, said it wasn’t about being the hero — it was all about protecting his family. https://t.co/SXoUGH4q4Y pic.twitter.com/fxOFXwEKhW
— CNN (@CNN) November 22, 2022
Fierro then recalled the aftermath of the shooting as he scrambled to help those who had been shot.
“And I told Joann, ‘stay with me. Look me in the eye, stay with me,'” he recalled.
“And I moved her head so she wouldn’t him because he was shot.
“Chip was right there, her husband was reaching for her.
“So I put her hand in his so that they could be together.
“I didn’t know if they’re going to make it,” he continued, getting choked up.
“This whole thing was a lot, my daughter, and wife should have never experienced combat in Colorado Springs and everybody in that building experienced combat that night.
“Not on their own accord, but because they were forced to.
“They have to live with this now for whenever. It’s a lot for any human, man.
“This kid that was helping me was kicking another human in the head. And I told him to do it.
“I don’t know what to do. You know, there was a beautiful, one of the other performers was walking by when the kid was getting tired of kicking.
“And she did, she helped him, kicked him with the high heels that she had on, and then ran because she’s probably scared.
“I don’t know what’s going on in there.
“I was trying to get people to call the police.”
Richard Fierro, hero of the Club Q shooting, describes how he took down the shooter: “… I’m a big dude, man, and this guy was bigger, and I kept wailing on him.”
“One of the performers walked by, or was running by, and I told her, kick this guy, kick this guy …” pic.twitter.com/FOHI14esTF
— The Recount (@therecount) November 22, 2022
