Tennessee Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Shields received the Soldier’s Medal – the service’s highest honor for valor not related to combat – for his role in disarming and restraining a teenage shooter during an Oct. 8, 2018, melee. The incident took place in a parking lot during a high school football game.
“I just grabbed his hand and fell to the ground with him. I didn’t want anybody to take the gun, so I held him there until police arrived,” said Shields, who is attached to Detachment 1, 1175th Transportation Company. “I just did what I thought anybody else would’ve done in my situation.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee presented the medal to Shields in a July 10 ceremony.