Navy awards heroism medal to the man who helped stop the Club Q shooter

LGBTQ Nation Hero of the Year Thomas James has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corp Medal for his role in stopping the Club Q shooter, who killed five people and wounded 19 at the LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado on November 19, 2022.

James, a Navy petty officer, charged at the shooter along with Richard Fierro. As Fierro pulled the gunman to the floor, James tore the shooter’s rifle away and helped Fierro restrain him.

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A press release from the Navy called it “an extraordinary reaction to a deplorable and devastating event,” pointing out that in the aftermath, James also gave up his ambulance seat to another victim who needed to be taken to a hospital.

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James was presented with the award – described as “the highest non-combat decoration the Navy can award for heroism” – by Rear Adm. Scott Robertson, who said he asked James why he did what he did before the ceremony. “He said, ‘I wanted to buy time for my friends. I wanted to protect my community,'” Robertson said.

After receiving the medal, James told the audience, “Thank you. I am humbled.”

In a statement issued from the hospital where he was recovering from injuries sustained in the attack, James said, “I simply wanted to save the family I found. If I had my way, I would shield everyone I could from the nonsensical acts of hate in the world, but I am only one person.”

James was voted LGBTQ Nation’s Hero of the Year along with Fierro, an Army veteran who was at Club Q with his wife and daughter and her longtime boyfriend to watch one of his daughter’s friends perform.

Fierro and James were guests at Gov. Jared Polis‘ State of the State address in January, and Fierro was the Grand Marshal for Colorado Springs’ Pride parade in June.