WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Firefighter Ross Flynt walked out of the hospital to cheers and applause Wednesday, days after he was shot outside a Winston-Salem restaurant.
The Winston-Salem Fire Department tweeted a video of Flynt on the way out the door and thanking Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist for taking care of him.
Last Friday, Flynt and his rescue crew were eating lunch outside the restaurant before a shooting happened. They were also on duty at the time.
Battalion Chief Patrick Grubbs and Engine Company Three Captain Daniel Gossett were with Flynt that morning for a training session.
"We were doing a little bit of live smoke training, climbing in windows and cutting holes in roofs and just normal training that we do all of the time," Grubbs said.
The group broke apart to go get lunch that afternoon. Grubbs heard the call come in when he returned to the station.
"We heard the radio traffic, is how we learned that something was going on but we didn't know exactly what it was at the time," Grubbs said.
Police said a car pulled up and started shooting at customers before leaving the area. Investigators said they don't know if Flynt and the other person shot were targets of the shooting.
The rescue crew gave both men medical attention while waiting for EMS to arrive. Word spread quickly to the city's fire stations that Flynt had been hit.
"I felt the same when I found out it was Ross as I would have had it been another one of those crew members," Gossett said. "It was just heartbreaking. I felt for him, I felt for his crew members that were there and my heart really broke for his family."
Many firefighters, including Grubbs and Gossett visited him as he recovered at the hospital.
Gossett said he felt relief when police arrested two suspects in the case.
"We're just out here to help people. We're just out here to do our job and it's scary running into these situations," Gossett said.
Both have known him for more than 10 years. Grubbs and Flynt are also chiefs of volunteer fire departments, with Flynt leading Walkertown Fire Department.
"We do stuff on our days off. Not as frequently as some, but just the other day we were putting a roof on a barn," Grubbs said. "He’s a jokester. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t ever seem to have a bad day."
The department said Flynt still has a lot of healing to do.
"Ross is going to bounce back from this. He’s an amazing person who doesn’t really let anything get him down. In the fire service or out of the fire service, he’s just a headstrong guy," Gossett said.
They stand ready to support him through every step.
However, the Winston-Salem Fire Department is more than happy to have Flynt safe and headed home.
Stay connected to local, national, and breaking news: Download the WFMY News 2 app.
►Text the word APP to 336-379-5775