Riley Howell has posthumously been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for tackling a gunman who opened fire in a classroom at University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Student Awarded Purple Heart, Bronze Star
Slain University Student Tackled Gunman In Classroom
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A University of North Carolina-Charlotte student who was killed when he tackled a gunman who opened fire inside a classroom has been posthumously awarded military honors.
Twenty-one-year-old Army ROTC cadet Riley Howell was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
The Charlotte Observer reports Waynesville Police Chief William Hollingsed and Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher on Wednesday presented Howell's family with the medals. They were provided by Thomas Matteo, president of the Purple Heart Society.
Riley is credited with saving lives during the April 30 attack on the Charlotte campus that also killed 19-year-old student Ellis R. Parlier and wounded four others.
Authorities have charged 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell with murder, attempted murder and other offenses.
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com
Read more at https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/student-who-attacked-gunman-lauded
Photo:
Air Force First Lt. Kevin Summerbell, a C-17 Globemaster III pilot, holds up the Purple Heart he received after being shot in Iraq by enemy combatants while serving in the Army, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., Feb. 19, 2015. Summerbell later commissioned as an officer in the Air Force to be a C-17 pilot, the same aircraft he was flown back on after being wounded.
Photo By: Senior Airman Dennis Sloan
Photo Courtesy of www.defense.gov
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