The hero UNC Charlotte student who died after jumping on a gunman when he opened fire in his classroom will be buried with full military honors.
Riley Howell, 21, was one of two students who died in the shooting at the university’s campus on Tuesday. Ellis Parlier, 19, also lost his life.
When gunman Trystan Terrell burst into their anthropology class and opened fire, Howell ran towards him and tackled him to the ground.
Officials in North Carolina say it bought police time to get to him and stop the shooting which saved countless lives.
Wells Funeral Homes in Waynesville told FOX 46 that Riley Howell would receive a military burial in his hometown.
Riley Howell, 21, was one of two students who died in the shooting at the university’s campus on Tuesday
David Belnap, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, displays a t-shirt in Charlotte, on Wednesday in support of Riley Howell
A visitation is planned at the Wells Event and Reception Center from 5 pm to 8 pm Saturday evening in Waynesville. A memorial service will also be held on Sunday at 5 pm at Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska.
A petition was filed on WhiteHouse.gov to have Howell buried with full military honors.
It states: ‘Riley was an ROTC cadet and would have served his country. Instead, he died saving the lives of his classmates. For his heroism, we ask that Riley be given a burial with full military honors.
Four students who were injured were identified Drew Pescaro, 19; Sean DeHart, 20; Emily Houpt, 23, and Rami Alramadhan, 20. They are expected to make a full recovery.
On Thursday, Howell’s parents Thomas and Natalie told Today how proud they were of their son’s response to the terror.
‘Everybody ran and Riley chased,’ Thomas said. ‘We are just beyond proud of what he was able to do. While kids were running away, our sun turned and ran towards the shooter,’ his mother Natalie added.
Riley’s grieving girlfriend, Lauren Westmoreland, had been frantically searching for information on social media after she learned an active shooter was on the campus.
She told Today that she was not surprised to learn that he died saving others.
Riley’s parents Thomas and Natalie spoke of their pride on Thursday and say they are not surprised he gave his life to save others
‘It’s what he would have done. No matter what.’
The young athlete’s younger siblings also paid tribute to him. ‘He put others before himself, he always has,’ said his younger sister Juliet.
Another sister added: ‘He saved a whole room of people…just to make sure some people got out alive.’
The chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said on Wednesday that Howell ‘absolutely’ saved lives.
‘He’s an athletically built young man and he took the fight to the assailant. He unfortunately had to give his life doing so but he saved lives doing so.
‘What he did, he took the assailant off his feet and then the heroes that we have here were able to apprehend him.
Howell’s girlfriend Lauren frantically searched for information about whether or not he had been harmed on social media before learning that he was among the victims. They are shown recently
Lauren also spoke on Today to share her grief. She said too that she was not surprised to learn her boyfriend saved others, saying: ‘It’s what he would have done. No matter what’
‘Absolutely, Mr. Howell saved lives,’ Chief Kerr Putney said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Terrell is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and other charges.
As he was led into police custody on Tuesday, he proudly yelled to reporters: ‘I went into a classroom and shot some guys.’
The 22-year-old had been studying at UNC Charlotte until this semester but dropped out.
The circumstances surrounding his departure remain unknown.
Ellis Parlier, 19, also died. His parents were too grief-stricken to comment on his death
He has been living with his father in Charlotte for the last two years but spent much of his adolescence in Texas with his grandfather following the death of his mother in 2011.
In a 2016 blog post, his father said he had been diagnosed with autism when he was three.
It remains unknown if the handgun he used to carry out the attack was legally owned or registered in his name.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released the calls placed in seconds and minutes after the shooting on Tuesday that killed two and wounded four.
The calls, 32 of which were received within 16 minutes, paint a vivid picture of the chaos unfolding as students fled or hunkered down – and desperately sought help for the wounded.
At least two callers were students fleeing from the classroom where it happened. One said the bespectacled, long-haired gunman was wearing all black and carrying a black pistol that he used to fire many rounds, adding: ‘He was still shooting when we were leaving.’
Another, sounding out of breath, said: ‘There is someone shooting. … He ran into the classroom I was in.’
The panic also forced students to flee nearby buildings as word spread quickly.
‘I was in there just trying to print something out and someone ran in and shouted shooter,’ said a caller who fled a nearby building. ‘I was just sitting at the computer. Someone came in yelling, so I ran.’
Trystan Terrell, the 22-year-old suspect in the shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Tuesday, was seen smirking as he was led into the police station during his arrest