Anthony Borges, 15, is being hailed as a hero after acting as a human shield during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14
A survivor of the Florida school shooting used his body as human shield to protect his classmates.
Anthony Borges was shot five times, putting the lives of others before his own, as he barricaded the door between his peers and alleged mass murderer Nikolas Cruz – using only his own bodyweight.
The last of a group of 20 students rushing to hide in a classroom as the shooter progressed through the school grounds, Anthony was trying to lock the door when he was shot.
He was hit in the back and legs but held his ground, keeping the door shut. All the other people inside the room survived uninjured, his best friend Carlos Rodriguez told ABC’s Good Morning America.
He said:Â “None of us knew what to do. So, he took the initiative to just save his other classmates.”
“He just called me and says, ‘Dad, somebody shot me in the back and my leg, too,” Anthony’s father Royer Borges said, breaking into tears. “He’s my hero.”
After undergoing hours of surgery, Royer said his son was in hospital in a stable condition.
A GoFundMe campaign, with an initial goal of $5,000, has already raised $69,300 for the boy and his family.
