Brantley Gilbert Honors Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr. with ‘Heroism’ Initiative

“When you see someone like James, who just jumped up and did what he did – and you think about the lives he saved, you realize what a special kind of guy he is,” Gilbert said.

Written by Kelly Brickey
Brantley Gilbert Honors Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr. with ‘Heroism’ Initiative
Pictured (L-R): Brennan McMurray, Hard 8/Working Group Manager and I Believe In Nashville's Rich Egan, Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, Brantley Gilbert and James Shaw Jr.; Photo Credit: Trevor Forbess

Like many citizens of Nashville, Brantley Gilbert wanted to do something special for the Waffle House shooting hero, James Shaw Jr., after hearing the life-saving action he took during the incident.

Shaw worked up the courage to bravely face the shooter during the tragedy in Antioch, Tennessee, and disarmed the man shooting at the innocent civilians. Although Shaw suffered a few injuries from the struggle, he saved the lives of so many other that could have been lost during the disturbance.

Inspired by his efforts, Gilbert teamed up with the local ‘I Believe in Nashville’ association to create specialty ‘I Believe in Heroism’ shirts honoring Shaw. Putting them up for sale on the organization’s website to raise money for the hero himself as well as the victims and their families, Gilbert also promised to sell the tees at his upcoming May 4 show in Nashville.

Brantley Gilbert

Pictured (L-R): Brantley Gilbert and James Shaw Jr.; Photo Credit: Trevor Forbess

“When you see someone like James, who just jumped up and did what he did – and you think about the lives he saved, you realize what a special kind of guy he is,” Gilbert said at the meeting. “I called my manager, Rich Egan, who heads up the ‘I Believe In Nashville’ coalition, and asked if there was any way we could do something that would shine a light and remind everyone that heroes can be real life people. We came up with the idea of creating ‘I Believe in Heroism’ t-shirts that we will sell at our May 4th Nashville show and give the proceeds to James.”

Gilbert met Shaw during the announcement of the t-shirt campaign, and thanked him for his service toward saving others. The country singer honored him with kind words, and showed gratitude by expressing his deepest emotions regarding the shooting.

Photo Credit: Trevor Forbess

“Bad people do bad things. But good people can do great things. Talking to James before we got up here, he said he’s not a superhero, he’s just a regular person. But I think there has to be some hero inside, that’s where that kind of bravery comes from,” Gilbert explained.

Fans who want to give back to the ‘I Believe in Heroism’ cause to donate to Shaw and the victims of the shooting can head over to the I Believe in Nashville website to purchase a shirt in support.