James W. Musgrove, Jr.

James W. Musgrove, Jr., saved an indeterminate number of church members from assault, Vestavia Hills, Alabama, June 16, 2022. At an evening potluck dinner attended by more than 20 senior citizens in a church parish hall, a 70-year-old man, seated alone at his table, drew a semiautomatic handgun and fired three shots, wounding an 84-year-old man and two women, 84 and 75, at a neighboring table. Some of the seniors sought cover beneath tables or fled the immediate area into the nearby kitchen. Seated at a table closer to multiple doors exiting to a patio, Musgrove, 79, retired manager and investigator, stood and lifted a banquet chair, which he used as a shield as he ran toward the assailant, who remained seated. Musgrove released the chair and grasped the assailant’s gun hand, forcing the assailant, who was much larger than him, to drop the weapon to the floor. Holding the back of the assailant’s neck as he remained in his chair, Musgrove picked up the gun and struck the assailant’s head with it until he subdued him. Musgrove, who put the gun in his back pants pocket, continued to restrain the assailant in a seated position until police arrived and arrested him. The man and the two women died from their wounds. Musgrove was not injured.