This real-life Air Force superhero saved 28 people from an active shooter in Arizona
"In that moment, you have to decide: Flight or Fight. I chose fight.”
By David Roza May 27, 2021
News Air Force
Tech Sgt. Michael Walker was finishing dinner with his friends at the mall in Glendale, Arizona last spring when chaos erupted around him. People ran past the restaurant and he heard gunshots. Walker sprung into action, running to the restaurant’s front entrance to barricade the doors, a mere 10 or 15 feet from the shooter himself.
“All I could think about was locking the doors and getting people safely inside,” said Walker in a recent press release. An aviation resource manager for the 309th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, Walker received the 2021 Air Force Sergeants Association William H. Pitsenbarger Heroism Award in March for his actions last May. The airman is credited for helping save the lives of 28 people while off-duty during the shooting at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale on May 20, 2020.
Three people were injured in the shooting, and the suspected perpetrator, 20-year-old Armando Hernandez Jr., was arrested and faced 16 felony charges, The Arizona Republic reported on May 21, 2020.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-tech-sgt-michael-walker-glendale-shooter/
