PICTURED: Hero soldier, 34, who 'saved countless lives' by running over would-be mass shooter with his pickup truck as he fired on drivers crossing Kansas bridge

The active-duty soldier who has been hailed a hero for thwarting a possible mass shooting on a Kansas bridge by running over the suspect with his pickup truck broke his silence Thursday afternoon, saying that his military training kicked in and that he was prepared to put himself in harm's way.

The valiant serviceman was identified on Thursday as Master Sgt David Royer, of Fort Leavenworth, a 15-year veteran of the US Army.   

One person was injured by the shooter during the incident that took place Wednesday morning on the Centennial Bridge that connects Kansas and Missouri, according to Leavenworth police Chief Patrick Kitchens. That person, also a soldier, was a random victim.

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Master Sgt David Royer is pictured during a press conference on Thursday describing how he thwarted a mass shooting on a Kansas bridge by running over a gunman 

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Royer's white Chevy Silverado is seen pushed up against the suspect's black car on the bridge on Wednesday morning 

During a press conference this afternoon, Master Sgt Royer told reporters that he was driving home from an appointment when he saw that the car in front of him stopped and that the driver was standing on the bridge.

As Royer was speaking to his fiance over bluetooth, he said he witnessed the man in the road pull out a rifle and open fire at passing motorists. 

Royer instructed his fiancee to call 911 and report an active shooter on the bridge, and then he told her he 'had to go.' 

'I assessed the situation very quickly, looked around and just took the only action possible I thought I could take,' Royer recounted. 'I accelerated my truck as quickly as possible and struck the active shooter and pinned him underneath my truck.' 

Royer attributed his ability to react quickly to the emergency to his extensive military training, which included active-shooter drills. 

'I was shocked that was happening, but the adrenaline took over and with the military training I received I took appropriate action,' he said.  

After mowing down the suspect, Royer said he made sure he no longer posed a threat, then proceeded to render first aid to the injured man lodged under his truck. 

Royer said when he went over to the suspect's car to turn off the engine, he noticed a pistol resting on the seat. 

Moments later, first responders arrived on the scene and took over, with Royer describing their actions as 'textbook' and 'amazing.'  

Royer revealed that his fiancee was 'panicking' after hearing gunshots during their call. After the incident was over, the soldier called his wife-to-be back to tell her he was unharmed.  

The master sergeant later arrived home and was reunited with his fiancee and children.

'I mowed my grass and ate dinner and spent time with my family,' Royer said, summing up the incident as 'pretty surreal.'

The soldier revealed that when he later spoke to his family, his father was at first angry at him for putting his life at risk, but ultimately he was happy that his son took action.   

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Traffic is back up on the bridge during the active shooter investigation on Wednesday

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Master Sgt Royer said he was driving across the bridge on his home home from an appointment when he encountered the shooter

When asked about his truck, Royer jokingly lamented that his 2014 Chevy Silverado, which was the first vehicle he ever bought, likely has been damaged beyond repair, prompting Police Chief Kitchens to quip that someone should call Chevrolet and ask the automaker to send the hero soldier a new truck.  

Royer said his takeaway from what happened is 'not to be afraid. Everything would turn out OK. There's people all around the world that would do things like that. I believe there is more good out there than there is bad.' 

Royer grew up in a small town in Ohio. He said both his parents and his military veteran brother are courageous people who had taught him from a young age to do what's right and protect the innocents. 

'It kinda runs in our blood to stand up and do what's right and put ourselves in front of harms' way if we need to,' he said, 

After getting into some trouble as a teen, Royer said he got his life in order, graduated from high school and joined the military in 2005, with his first posting being Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

Officers initially believed they were responding to a road rage incident on the Centennial Bridge that connects Kansas and Missouri, not far from Fort Leavenworth, the police chief said.  

Instead, they discovered that a man had been using multiple weapons to fire randomly at vehicles before Royer used his truck to thwart the attack, Chief Kitchens said on Wednesday.

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Authorities gather on Centennial Bridge after a shooting Wednesday, May 27, near Leavenworth, Kansas. A Fort Leavenworth soldier is being credited with saving lives after he stopped a person who was randomly shooting on the bridge that connects Kansas and Missouri

'The soldier intervened by striking the shooter with his vehicle, causing him to be critically injured, but ending the encounter with the active shooter and likely saving countless lives,' the police chief said.

'There doesn't appear to be a target,' he added. 'The person was simply, randomly firing at vehicles as they passed by.' 

The shooter, described as a 37-year-old resident of Platte County, Missouri, drove to the bridge at around 11 a.m., parked his car, and started to shoot at random cars crossing the bridge, according to a news report by KMBC news.

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Aerial footage from Kake news showed police officers on the bridge, which had been closed, investigating the scene

The suspect had a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun, shooting three different vehicles during his attempted attack, with at least seven bullets flying through the window of a Ford Taurus.

Aerial footage of the bridge after the incident showed vehicles involved in the attack and police officers and their vehicles working on the bridge, which had been closed and taped off to the public.

April Steinke, who had been at the nearby Nextcare Urgent Care when the incident happened, said: 'Me and another patient just heard some sirens and I was like, "Wow. That's awful close,'' adding that she was impressed with the soldier's quick thinking. 'That's a hero to me,' she said of the soldier. 

Both the shooting victim and the suspect were in serious but stable conditions in  nearby Kansas City hospitals, police said.

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Pictured: Leavenworth police Chief Patrick Kitchens speaks during a press briefing following the incident. Kitchens said that it didn't appear the the suspect had a target and was shooting indiscriminately before the soldier hit him with his car

Kitchens said no motive for the shooting has been determined, but investigators are looking into the suspect's history. The suspect is from Platte County, Missouri. 

The guns are reportedly being traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to check whether they had been purchased legally. 

Centennial Bridge bridge crosses the Missouri river and connects Leavenworth, Kansas, and Platte County, Missouri, and is 2,500 feet long.

One lane on the bridge was reportedly already closed for road work before the shooting occurred.