'Riley Howell is a hero' Student who attacked gunman lauded
By TOM FOREMAN Jr. and JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press
May 2, 2019 12:06 AM CDT
Students observer a moment of silence during a vigil at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 1, 2019 after a student with a pistol killed two people and wounded four others on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)   (Associated Press)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina college student who police say died attacking a gunman in his classroom is being remembered by friends and family as a hero.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said 21-year-old Riley Howell's sacrifice Tuesday saved lives at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte because the gunman had plenty of ammunition.

Howell and another student died in the shooting in an anthropology class. Four other students were hurt.

Police arrested 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell in the classroom. He is charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder.

David Belnap was Howell's friend. He came to a campus vigil Wednesday night vigil with "Riley Howell is a hero" handwritten on the back of his T-shirt.

Belnap says he wants Howell's decision to die protecting others to never be forgotten.

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