Yousuf told CBS that he knew there was a door behind the panicked crowd, but people were too overwhelmed to unlatch it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m screaming, \u201d\u02dcOpen the door! Open the door!\u2019 \u201d\u009d Yousuf said. \u201cAnd no one is moving because they are scared.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
If they did not act, they could be targeted by the gunman, who could have appeared at any moment. They were a few feet from relative safety. Yousuf told CBS that there was \u201conly one choice.\u201d\u009d
\u201cEither we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance of getting shot and saving everyone else, and I jumped over to open that latch and we got everyone that we can out of there.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
It was a simple act of heroism, but it may have been one of the most decisive actions that took place that morning. Asked how many people left through that exit, Yousuf told CBS that he estimated as many as 60 or 70.<\/p>\n