A HERO

UNC Charlotte Shooting: Riley Howell Shot at Point-Blank Range While Tackling Gunman

Authorities reportedly told Howell's parents that their son was shot at least three times while taking down the gunman last week.

Riley Howell, the 21-year-old who stopped the University of North Carolina Charlotte shooter, took at least three shots while tackling the shooter—including one at point-blank range, stopping what could have been a far-worse mass shooting incident. Two people, including Howell, were killed and four others were wounded during the shooting last week. According to The New York Times, authorities told Howell's parents that their son tackled the gunman so forcefully that the suspect was complaining of “internal injuries” after his arrest. Howell's mother, Natalie Henry-Howell said, “the chief said no one was shot after Riley body slammed him.” Howell’s parents that their son was shot at close-range in the head while he was on-top of the shooter. “This was burned,” Howell's father—Thomas Howell—told the newspaper, pointing to a spot along the jawbone. “That bullet went up into his brain and killed him.”