Man Uses Himself As Human Shield To Protect His Girlfriend And Son In Gun Attack

Gareth Lane, 35, was shot at point blank range by a crazed gunman who had been abusing his partner on a bus.

The selfless hero, who miraculously survived the attack, was taking his girlfriend Jen Dunstan-Furniss, 35, and her four-year-old son Rio, for a picnic in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

After departing the bus, the armed attacker pulled a gun on the mother and her tot before Gareth jumped in to save the day.

Amazingly the brave boyfriend was left uninjured after the assailant managed to miss from four feet away.

Thankful Jen revealed she wanted to 'shout from the rooftops' about Gareth’s heroics.

She said: "He's an absolute, real-life hero. I just want to shout it out from the rooftops - who needs Spider-Man when I've got my own real-life hero

A real-life superhero says he no longer needs to prove his commitment to his girlfriend after using himself as a human shield to stop a bullet.

According to The Sun, after the bungled assault, the criminal pulled a knife before running away.

The gunman then hijacked a car at gunpoint and forced the driver to take him towards Sheffield city centre.

Hero Gareth believes he proved his love and commitment for Jen and her son.

He said: "I don't think I'm going to have to marry Jen to prove my loyalty any more. My only concern was the safety of Jen and Rio.

"The man was being quite aggressive towards Jen during the journey and I told him he should stop.

"When we got off the bus, he got off behind me and when I turned round he had pulled a gun out.

"I must have been four feet away from him when he fired. I don't know how but he must have missed.

"I think it was a real gun because the cartridge was still smoking for a while on the ground afterwards.

"Then he pulled a knife out. I went to grab a dry stone from the wall and my plan was to hit him with it, but then he just legged it.”

He added: "I'm still a little bit shaken up. Rio seems okay, he said he enjoyed his ride in the police car.

"We will have to keep an eye on him."

Gareth praised South Yorkshire Police for taking the incident, which happened on May 1, “very seriously”.

He also said the gunman “obviously needs help” and criticised cuts to mental health services.

"I'm quite pleased to still be alive and kicking - but this man obviously needs some help.

"I think he must have some sort of mental health issues and it goes to show the effect of the cuts to mental health services.

"I'm positive that if there had been mental health provisions in place that these sort of things might not happen."

South Yorkshire Police urge anyone with information relating to the incident to call 101.