As Jared L. Loughner opened fire on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and a small crowd of supporters, killing at least 6 and wounding many others, there appears to be at least three people who, in the face of horror, performed unimaginable heroic acts: Bill Badger, Daniel Hernandez, and Patricia Maisch.

Instead of running away, Bill Badger, a former Army colonel, tackled the shooter, subduing Loughner and preventing him from hurting even more bystanders.

Maisch assisted by "grabb[ing] the magazine and handgun from the gunman that witnesses said helped prevent further tragedy," CBS reports. 

"It was one shot, and then a moment with nothing, and then a series of shots," Patricia Maisch, of Tucson, told CBS affiliate KPHO. "I saw him coming down the line of chairs there, in front of the Safeway, just shooting people." Two men tackled the gunman, but he could have done more damage. He still had the gun in his hand as he laid face-to-face with Maisch, she said. "I was waiting to be shot, I was wondering how it was gonna feel to be shot," she told the station. Maisch said she didn't stop to think of her own safety, she didn't hesitate for a second. "I immediately knelt up over him, because he was right there almost on top of me, and the gun was in his right hand," she said. She said she grabbed the 9mm handgun and the fully loaded magazine he took out of his pocket, disarming him before he could inflict more damage.

As for Hernandez, the congressional intern probably saved Congressman Gabrielle Giffords's life, the Daily Caller reports:

Here’s one way to go above and beyond as an intern: Save your boss’ life. That’s what Daniel Hernandez, a 20-year-old intern and junior at the University of Arizona, did for Ariz. Rep Gabrielle Giffords when she was shot in the head at a public event in Tucson, Ariz. Saturday. As the alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughner opened fire on Giffords and other attendees at the “Congress on Your Corner” event, Hernandez sprinted towards the gunshots, providing life-saving assistance to his boss and the others wounded. When asked if he was worried about possibly getting shot himself while trying to aid the injured, Hernandez told The Daily Caller that his focus was assisting the others. “I don’t remember feeling concerned about myself, and once I saw that the congresswoman  was injured, she was my top priority because of the severity of her wound,” Hernandez told TheDC. “My main concern was making sure all the injured people were all right.” Hernandez ran from person to person, checking their pulses. When he came across Giffords, Hernandez began applying pressure to the entry wound on her forehead. According to a hospital physician, Hernandez probably saved Giffords’ life.