Derek Winemiller, a 38-year-old union carpenter from Kansas City, Missouri, was left paralyzed from the chest down after intervening in a Feb. 9, 2020, armed robbery at a neighborhood store. A man pointed a handgun at the store’s cashier, 38, and believing the man’s life was in danger, Winemiller, who was nearby, confronted the assailant, jammed the weapon and pushed the man against the wall. As they struggled, the assailant broke free and continued to shoot at Winemiller, who was ultimately shot at least seven times and sustained injuries to his bowels, heart, ribs, pelvic bone, scapula, thoracic vertebrae, and spinal cord. The assailant and a potential accomplice fled the store and have not been identified. Winemiller was hospitalized 19 days and underwent emergency surgery before spending two months in a rehabilitation hospital. At the time of the investigation, he had ongoing outpatient therapy and hoped to walk again.