GoFundMe effort raises $700k to help UCC hero Chris Mintz

“We were told he did heroic things to protect some people,” Mintz’s aunt, Sheila Brown, told NBC News.

Mintz was shot in the back, hands, and abdomen and also sustained two broken legs. He laid waiting for medical help at the scene, repeating, “It’s my son’s birthday, it’s my son’s birthday,” according to the Huffington Post.

Before going to UCC that day, where he was studying to be a fitness instructor, Mintz posted to his Facebook a “happy birthday” message to his six year-old son.

Since the shooting Thursday morning, Mintz has been in surgery to remove the bullets from his body. A photo of a smiling Mintz was posted to Imgur Friday morning with the caption, “Chris Mints [sic], the hero that charged the UCC shooter to help save others is doing fine after having surgery to remove 7 bullets. What a guy.”

Mintz, originally from North Carolina, had joined the army after high school and also served a deployment.  After leaving the army he moved to Oregon and went back to school.

Along with the outpouring of appreciation for Mintz’s heroic actions has come a widespread concern over publicizing the shooter and his name.

In an effort to resist making the shooter’s identity a household name and giving him the fame he wanted, people are pushing to “forget the zero and remember the hero.”

Remember the name Chris Mintz: father, veteran, and hero.