Waffle House Hero & Florida HS Shooting Survivor Honored At Brady Center Bear Awards Gala

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 01: (L-R) Avery Gardiner, Bryan Cranston, Aalayah Eastmond, Kris Brown and James Shaw, Jr. attend Brady Center’s 2018 Bear Awards honoring real life heroes helping to prevent gun violence at Gotham Hall on October 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence)

“Breaking Bad” Actor Bryan Cranston Helps Honor The “Real Heroes Of The Gun Violence Prevention Movement” At Annual Brady Center Bear Awards

Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. and mass shooting survivor and activist Aalayah Eastmond were among the honorees at the anti-gun gun violence advocacy nonprofit The Brady Center’s Bear Awards.

Several hundred people attended the glittering event inside Gotham Hall in Manhattan Oct. 1 for the annual awards gala that recognizes the “real heroes of the gun violence prevention movement,” Brady Center co-president Avery Gardiner told guests.

In front of an audience that included “Breaking Bad” actor Bryan Cranston, the humble Shaw joked whether the Brady Center was honoring the right guy.

“Are you sure this is for the right person?” Shaw said after receiving a standing ovation. Shaw said that he would continue to honor the legacy of the four young people who were killed before he could disarm the gunman.

In her remarks, Eastmond recalled being in her Holocaust studies class when Nikolas Cruz opened fire his her classroom, and she was forced to hide under the body of her slain schoolmate in order to survive.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 01: 2018 Bear Award Recipient Aalayah Eastmond speaks onstage during the Brady Center’s 2018 Bear Awards honoring real life heroes helping to prevent gun violence at Gotham Hall on October 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence)

Eastmond now works with The Brady Center on gun safety initiatives, most recently testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s stance on gun rights.

“My goal is to continue amplifying voices from communities of color, whose everyday experience of gun violence is always undermined and mischaracterized by the media and society,” Eastmond said.

Also honored at the gala were Eastmond’s teacher, Ivy Schemis lawyer, musicians and activists Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt, gun violence prevention activist Amanda Wilcox and the Gun Safety Alliance.

Hosted by “The Daily Show’s” Roy Wood Jr. Monday evening’s gala was held on the one year anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting at a country music concert that left almost 60 people dead.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 01: A view of atmosphere during the Brady Center’s 2018 Bear Awards honoring real life heroes helping to prevent gun violence at Gotham Hall on October 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence)

The evening raised money for The Brady Center’s efforts around gun safety education, litigation and legislation and also unveiled a new ad campaign for “End Family Fire” campaign warning the public of the dangers of keeping firearms in the home.

Hit the flip for more pics from The Brady Center Bear Awards: