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Gun-toting dad who thwarted mass shooting despite being shot in head now training others on self-def

Emma Colton - Fox News | Published on 8/7/2023
One year ago on July 3, Arizona resident and concealed-carry holder Raul Mendez and his family were enjoying a Fourth of July party before shots rang out and left their lives changed forever.

Mendez was shot in the head as suspect Jason Hunt opened fire on the partygoers, leaving two men dead and four others, including Mendez, seriously injured. The rampage ended when Mendez was able to gather the strength to pick himself off the floor, unholster his concealed-carry weapon and shoot Hunt four times in the chest.

"It's still something that's unreal," Mendez told Fox News Digital in a phone interview this week. "It's kind of like, now we know what's out there. And you always see it on the news that this happened, that happened … but you never think it's going to happen to you."