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A student at Umpqua Community College is being hailed as a hero for charging at the Oregon gunman as he shot his classmates on Thursday.
Chris Mintz, 30, was taken to the hospital after being shot at least 5 times trying to take down the attacker, 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer. Mintz's cousin tells the Daily Mail that there was no way the Army veteran 'was going to stand around and watch something this horrific happen.'
Mintz spent much of Thursday in surgery and fortunately none of his vital organs were hit with bullets. His family says that both of his legs are broken and he will have to learn to walk again.
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Mintz started Thursday by wishing his 6-year-old son Tyrik a 'Happy Birthday' on Facebook. Hours later, he was attending class at Umpqua when the rampage began. The shooter was killed by responding officers.
Originally from North Carolina, Mintz served 10 years in the Army before moving to Oregon to help raise Tyrik. He worked at the YMCA while studying to be a fitness trainer.
"He could have very easily died," Wanda Mintz, Chris' aunt, told My Fox 8. "I really think that if he wasn't such a strong, young guy, he may have died."
A photo was posted to social media of a smiling Mintz recovering in the hospital, who is expected to be ok. His cousin is hoping for a quick recovery.
"He is very upset that people had to die and he wishes that he could have saved everyone. That was about all he was able to get out before he broke down. Hang in there brother."
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