A White House petition has been launched to honour the U.S. army veteran who was nearly shot to death trying to stop the gunman who opened fire at an Oregon college.
Chris Mintz, 30, was shot up to seven times Thursday when he tried to block the shooter from getting through a classroom door at Umpqua Community College.
"It's my son's birthday today," Mintz told the shooter, according to Q13 Fox.
"He could have very easily died," his aunt, Wanda Mintz, told the outlet. "I really think that if he wasn't such a strong, young guy, he may have died.”
In total, 10 people were killed in the attack and nine wounded.
Both of Mintz' legs were broken and he'll need to learn to walk again, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help the veteran with his medical bills.
The campaign raised has more than $700,000 since Oct. 2.
On Friday, a petition to President Barack Obama was launched, recommending Mintz for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions.
The nation's highest civilian honour is given to those who make "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States."
"Mintz positively displayed the values of loyalty, duty, respect, honor, integrity, personal courage, and self-sacrifice to attempt to save as many of his fellow citizens as possible," reads the petition.
Mintz served in the U.S. army for a decade and finished his service without any injuries, according to Business Insider.
The shooter, Chris Harper-Mercer, died by suicide at the college campus when law enforcement officers arrived.
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