ATLANTA — An Atlanta man is being hailed a hero after he jumped into action during an attempted robbery last Wednesday.
It happened in northwest Atlanta inside a Dollar General on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Corey Lampley was shot in the process but saved several lives. He told 11Alive he's still processing what happened.
"This is honestly the first time I've came back and soaked it all in," he said.
The 32-year-old wrestler, known as "Renegade" in the wrestling community, was in his security uniform checking out as a customer at the Dollar General last week when chaos broke out.
"Two gentlemen walked up. One kind of went to the door, one kind of stood maybe 6 inches, 7 inches away from me and jumped the counter with his gun in the middle of the transaction," Lampley said.
That's when he decided to step in.
"I just drew my weapon because I'm 6 feet 1, 300 pounds in a security uniform," he added.
He knew how much was at stake.
"I feel like any wrong move I can make, anybody's life could be in jeopardy. And that was the wisest decision," he said.
Lampley said the 15 people in the store went running while he chased one of the men.
"I can hear the perpetrator number two get his gun, and when I turned around, that's when I got hit in the shoulder," he explained.
(This story continues below the gallery.)
Photos | Corey Lampley
He said he returned fire. After making sure that everyone was OK, he walked himself to a nearby fire station and waited for police to get here.
"The bullet entered here through my shoulder," he said. "One lodged about here into my collarbone area and another one is in my back, right before my shoulder blade."
Atlanta Police said they still haven't found the people responsible.
"These guys don't seem to be more than 15 to 17 years old. I would say it's time to take some accountability. Live life a little different. I would say turn yourself in, but we know the probability of that happening is very, very low," Lampley said.
Lampley also want parents to be more involved in their kid's lives and make sure their proactive before something like this happens. The arrest of the two he encountered would give him peace of mind.
During this time the wresting community has been supporting his recovery, hoping he can get back in the ring soon. Lampley says he's following doctors orders and will likely be out for a year or so. If you'd like to support him during this time, they are fundraising for him. You can donate here.