Colorado Shooting Victim 'Wanted to Save the Family I Found'

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) A member of the U.S. Navy who was injured while helping prevent further harm during a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado last weekend said Sunday that he simply wanted to save the family that I found.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James made his first public comments on the shooting in a statement issued through Centura Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where James continues to recover from injuries suffered during the shooting.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said that James was one of two men who helped to stop the shooter who walked into Club Q late on Nov. 19 with multiple firearms, including a semiautomatic rifle, and killed five people. At least 17 others were injured when a drag queen's birthday celebration turned into a massacre.

James reportedly pushed a rifle out of the shooter's reach while Army veteran Rich Fierro repeatedly struck the shooter with a handgun they brought into the bar, officials have said.