Chris Harper Mercer and Chris Mintz shared a name, but the latter is being hailed as a hero Friday after allegedly trying to stop Mercer from opening fire on a classroom at Umpqua Community College in Oregon.
His family told Fox News in an interview that Mintz tried to block the doorway to keep Mercer from coming into the classroom.
Chris Mintz had just started at Umpqua Community College and, according to Wanda, had called his uncle Thursday morning to remind his family it was his son’s birthday.
His cousin, Derek Bourgeois, posted a similar story on Facebook, saying Chris “stood in front of the shooter in Oregon and took 5 shots on his son’s birthday.”
Mintz was taken to hospital and is expected to recover. A post on his Facebook wall, apparently written by a friend on Friday morning, thanked everyone for their support. A follow-up comment said Chris is “resting and in pain but smiling.”
According to his family, he graduated from Randleman High School in North Carolina in 2003 and spent approximately 10 years in the army. He moved to Roseberg, Oregon to attend school and raise his son.
His cousin, Bourgeois, told The Daily Beast, that he isn’t surprised Mintz charged at the gunman.
“It sounds like something he would do,” Bourgeois said.
Twenty-four hours after the shooting, people on Twitter were celebrating Mintz as a hero.
Bourgeois has set up a GoFundMe page for Mintz, writing “he is going to need all of the help he can get while he recovers.”
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