LARGO, Florida -- A grandfather from Largo says it was his 14-year-old grandson's quick thinking that helped save lives the night of the deadly shooting inside an Aurora, Colorado movie theatre.

"Being a veteran, I didn't want my grandkids to see something like that -- blood and bodies," says David Garrett.

He thought his grandchildren would only see that in movies, not inches away from them in the movie theatre where they watched The Dark Knight Rises. 

"I think it's going to be a good lesson, but it's going to take a long time to heal," says their grandmother, Cookie Garrett.

12-year-old Jacob became overwhelmed and wanted to leave after a smoke bomb was thrown in the theatre. But his brother, 14-year-old Joshua, knew that was dangerous and jumped into action.

"Jacob still wanted to leave, so Joshua took him, put him on the floor, and covered him up with his body," David explains. "A bullet whizzed over Joshua's head and hit the wall behind him."

Josh was eventually able to call his dad, who had dropped them off to see the movie. On his Facebook page, Josh describes witnessing the shooting as "the most horrible thing in my whole life."

He and his brother are receiving counseling from their church and their school.

"I want to hold them for a long time, and I want to tell them how much I love him," David says.

The proud grandparents have CDs and hard drives full of their grandchildren's photos, but the sweetest feeling will be getting to see them again.

"I'm just so proud of what [Joshua] did," David says. "To me, he's a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, in my heart. He was willing to lay down his life."

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