Violence on an ordinary grocery run: A Charlotte firefighter emerged a hero.
It was a regular Tuesday morning in October and it was Michael Cunningham’s turn to make lunch for his fellow Charlotte firefighter crew members.
He drove from firehouse station 41 at the airport to Harris Teeter in the Berewick Town Center for groceries.
In the parking lot, two men were fighting as Cunningham walked out of the store. One man, police would say later, pulled a gun on the other after meeting him there under the pretense of selling him a car listed on Facebook Marketplace.
Cunningham saw them and he heard others screaming that one of them had a gun.
He warned bystanders not to get any closer.
“There was a lady walking towards the area, and I grabbed her and pulled her aside. Multiple people were trying to walk up to record, and I kept telling everybody, ‘Get back, get back, get back,’” Cunningham recalled this week.
He got behind a vehicle and called 911.
“The next shouts he heard was that someone had been shot,” city officials wrote in a news release Wednesday.
Later, Cunningham can be seen in a video from that day, obtained by The Charlotte Observer, running towards the victim and pulling him away.
“I lifted up his shirt and saw the gunshot wound, and I applied pressure and told him to take deep breaths,” Cunningham said.
At least two cars were damaged in a car accident during the fight, and one suspect was arrested. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say the car the suspect was supposedly there to sell was stolen.
Late last week, Cunningham walked into the auditorium of the Charlotte Police and Fire Training Academy, not knowing he was about to receive the department’s Medal of Valor. His first thought when walking on stage was of his 1-year-old son.
“It was a proud moment to represent my family and the Charlotte Fire Department,” Cunningham said after receiving the award. “It was an inspiration to me to be part of something greater than myself and to be an example to my son. Hopefully, this will help mold him to follow in my footsteps.”
Cunningham demonstrated courage and dedication Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said in a news release.
“Cunningham is a firefighter who exemplifies the best of Charlotte Fire. Our department is filled with extraordinary people who risk their lives every day to protect our community.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 11:32 AM.
