Retired Shell takes heroics off the field

Lin-J Shell spent seven years in the CFL as a defensive back, trying to make heroic plays. Last Wednesday, the high school gym teacher in Jacksonville, Florida, came up with the most heroic moment of his life.

A 10-year teacher at Jean Ribault High School, Shell stopped an adult woman who’d made her way into a massive fight between students before she could pull out a gun.

“A big melee broke out in the gymnasium,” Shell told Postmedia. “I was jumping from fight to fight, trying to break up four different fights at the same time.”

According to the Postmedia story, Shell said that an “irate parent” that was upset about a social media feud between her nephew and another student arrived at the school with several other men. She allegedly had a small black handgun, which she pulled out as she entered into the brawls.

“I walked behind her and I noticed I could see the rear sights of the gun,” he said. “So I grabbed her wrist and grabbed her elbow and locked her arm down, saying, ‘please don’t shoot the kids, please don’t shoot the kids’.”

Amidst the chaos, Shell restrained the woman, kept the gun pointed at the floor and got the help of the school’s resource officer. The officer eventually got the woman to drop the gun. She was charged with possession of a firearm on school property.

Shell, who won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 2014, insists he’s not a hero.

“I’m not a hero, man. I’m just a guy,” he said.

“I just did what I hope someone would do for my son. I love all my students, every single one of them.”