Richard M. Fierro was at a table at Club Q with his wife, daughter and friends on a Saturday night last November when the sudden flash of gunfire ripped across the nightclub. His instincts, forged during four combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, instantly kicked in. Fight back, he told himself. Protect your people.
Fierro, 45, who spent almost 15 years as an Army officer and left as a major in 2013, charged through the chaos and tackled the gunman, beating him bloody with the shooter's own gun.
"I don't know exactly what I did. I just went into combat mode," Fierro said in the driveway of his Colorado Springs, Colorado, home just days after the shooting, an American flag hanging limp in the freezing air. "I just knew I had to kill this guy before he killed us."
Anderson Lee Aldrich, then 22, was arrested on charges of killing five people and wounding 18 more (four others were also injured) in a rampage that lasted only a few minutes. The death toll could have been much higher, officials said, if patrons of the bar had not stopped the shooter.
"He saved a lot of lives," John Suthers, then the mayor of Colorado Springs, said of Fierro. Suthers said he had spoken to Fierro and was struck by his humility. "I have never encountered a person who engaged in such heroic actions and was so humble about it."
IT WAS SUPPOSED to be a chill family night out. The combat veteran and his wife, Jess Fierro, joined their daughter, Kassandra, her longtime boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, and two family friends.
It was Fierro's first time at a drag show, and he was digging it. After all those years in the Army, he now relished his role as a civilian and a father, watching one of his daughter's old high school friends perform.
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reader's Digest US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reader's Digest US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Why Water Workouts Work
Swimming and other aquatic exercises have special benefits
A Week Under My Son's Roof
When roles reverse, it’s payback time
Cue the BBQ
A bowl of bulgogi is a treat for your taste buds
Surf's Up... Again
A Hawaiian helps victims of a devastating fire in the most Hawaiian way possible
IS EVERYONE ON OZEMPIC?
Everything you need to know about the new diabetes drugs shaping the weight-loss revolution
Hey Dad, Can You Help Me Return the Picasso I Stole?
A painting went missing in 1969, then turned up at a museums doorstep. No one knew how or why—until now.
WHEN A SNAKE FELL FROM THE SKY
THE WOMAN ON THE LAWN MOWER THOUGHT THAT WAS BADESPECIALLY WHEN IT HIT HER. THEN THE HAWK SWOOPED IN.
Popping the Question
Engagement stories from both sides of the bend
HOA HORROR STORIES
The good, the bad and the utterly bizarre!
Doing Dad's Bucket List
Laura Carney's father died suddenly, with unfinished business. So she started checking off the items for him.