A young man is called a hero after he acted as a human shield to protect his girlfriend when a mass shooter opened fire into a crowded section of downtown Dayton, Ohio early on August 4.
24-year-old Camryn Crowder was walking with his girlfriend Brittany Dungey, also 24, through Dayton’s popular Oregon District when he heard gunshots early on Sunday morning, reported Inside Edition.
A Surveillance camera captures the horrifying moment of bullets narrowly missing people racing to escape in a panic. Among the fleeing crowds was Dungey, who can be seen in the video tripping over herself and falling to the ground.
“In that moment, I felt like we were going to die,” recalled Dungey in an interview with Inside Edition. “I fell down so fast I actually thought I got shot.”
Instead of running for his own life, Crowder did not hesitate to jump on top of his girlfriend, covering as much of her body as he could with his own body.
“When I covered her up I was certain a bullet was going to hit one of us. I was hoping it was going to be me,” Crowder said.
They remained still on the ground for a few moments before Crowder army crawled with his girlfriend’s body underneath him. Crowder can be seen moving Dundey to a concrete planter for cover.
The young pair ultimately survived the shooting scene unscathed. They took to social media to share their shock, pain, and gratefulness for being alive.
“Camryn is my protector, my hero and my Love!” Dungey said of his boyfriend to Facebook.
“I’m pretty sure if Cam didn’t get me on the ground I woulda been dead,” she wrote in another Facebook post, saying she was traumatized by the incident. “This has been the most scariest thing that has ever happen. I don’t think I ever wanna go out again.”
“The people that right next to us is dead and that coulda been me and Cam. Like omg! Like we was right there. I’m literally so scared,” she wrote.
“I turn my head and I see some guy pointing a gun,” Crowder said to Dayton Daily News. He told the local news outlet that he just wanted to make sure she didn’t get hit.
“I was pretty much prepared for it. I was just praying like you know, whatever happens, happens at this point,” he said.
Sunday’s shooting was traumatizing for the young couple, who welcomed a baby daughter just three weeks ago. It was their first night out since the birth of their baby, according to Inside Edition.
The devastating carnage lasted only 30 seconds, but claimed the lives of nine people and injured many more. The shooter, 24-year-old Connor Betts, was fatally shot after he exchanged fire with three police officers.
Again, we want to thank everyone who’s sent a card, or email, stopped to speak with or hug an officer over the past few days. Off. Howard was given flowers, which he put on his bike. While Gabriel, who was in the Oregon Dist. during the shooting, wrote to thank our officers. pic.twitter.com/VnJXNMSKSZ
— Dayton Police Dept. (@DaytonPolice) August 8, 2019
Many residents of Dayton, still recovering from the trauma, expressed their gratefulness to the fast responding law enforcement officers with flowers, cards, emails, and hugs.
