Atlanta man awarded Carnegie Medal for heroism

ATLANTA — An Atlanta man has been awarded one of North America’s highest honors for his extraordinary act of heroism for saving another man’s life in a 2021 attack.

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Law firm intern Wyatt Tucker Shields, 22, is among the 16 individuals to receive the Carnegie Medal.

In July 2021, Kevin Alkinburg, 24, was walking down the street in Washington, D.C. with his girlfriend when a man begin harassing them.

The man demanded the couple kiss and continued to follow them for almost 50 feet, before aiming a fully loaded revolver at Alkinburg’s stomach.

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Shields saw the attacker pointing the gun at Alkinburg, ran towards the attacker and tackled him to the ground as the gun went off.

The gun flew away and out of the attacker’s reach.

Shields and Alkinburg held the man down to the ground until the police arrived.

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Shields chipped his teeth, cut his lip and lost hearing in his left ear from the incident, but he has since recovered.

The attacker was arrested, pleaded guilty to several related crimes and was sentenced to almost a year in prison.

Along with this prestigious award, each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant.

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