Trump's man praised for El Paso was "inaccurate" about his actions, police say

A Texan man who was honored on Monday by President Donald Trump for his "courage, character and strength" was "inaccurate" when he told a reporter that he had bravely attempted to outwit the shooter at an El Paso Walmart store last month, according to the police. .

"I did what a good man would have done," said Chris Grant, from his hospital bed, to CNN's Chris Cuomo, following the August 3 shootout, which killed 22 people. He said that when he heard the shots, he protected his mother while he was driving her safely and then decided to confront the gunman.

"I started throwing bottles at random," he said. "I'm not a baseball player, so we went through there, another way." But he said that one of the bottles had hit the shooter, who then targeted him and shot him.

Grant was injured, but El Paso Police Department spokesman Enrique Carrillo told NBC News that "Mr. Grant had provided an inaccurate account of the acts he had committed".

Carrillo said that the hours of surveillance recorded by the detectives "do not corroborate Mr. Grant's claims".

"We do not belittle his reaction, which is based on fundamental human instincts, but it is an act of self-preservation and nothing more," said Carrillo.

Grant was honored by Trump at a ceremony of Valor Medal and heroic honors at the White House on Monday. At the East Room ceremony, Trump paid tribute to six police officers who responded to the shooting that killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, and five residents of El Paso "who showed exceptional courage" during the shooting that had occurred the day before.

"Chris grabbed – listened to – bottles of soda and everything in front of him, and started throwing them at the shooter, distracting him from other customers and forcing the shooter to turn to Chris and shoot Chris, which caused two serious injuries to Chris Gunshot wounds, "said Trump at the ceremony, according to a transcript.

"But he is recovering well and we wish him the best, his family is here, so thank you Chris for helping us, please," Trump said. Grant's mother received the honor on behalf of her son.

Several media reported that Grant was arrested by secret service officers on the day of the ceremony. A secret service spokesman said the agency did not identify the people arrested, but had confirmed that a White House visitor had been temporarily arrested on Monday as a result of the arrest. an active arrest warrant.

The nature of the warrant and the agency that issued it were unclear and Mr. Carrillo stated that it did not come from the El Paso Police Department.

Efforts to reach Grant were unsuccessful. A woman who claims to be Grant's sister, who posted photos of the White House ceremony on Facebook, did not respond to a request for comment. The White House has also not responded to a request for comment.

The alleged gunman of El Paso Walmart, Patrick Crusius, 21, was charged on Thursday for murder in the capital. Prosecutors say that Crusius surrendered after the attack, telling the police "I am the shooter" and that it was targeting the Mexicans.