Along with the heartbreaking stories of tragedy following Saturday’s killings in Tucson, Ariz., there are the heartwarming stories of heroic acts by folks who more than rose to the occasion.

On Morning Edition, NPR’s Martin Kaste told us about 61-year-old Patricia Maisch, who grabbed a clip from the gunman as he apparently tried to reload.

“I was laying on the ground,” she says, “and I was wondering how it was going to feel to be shot.”

The suspect, 22-year-old Jared Loughner, was then tackled by two other bystanders and they were holding him down near her. She heard someone shout “get the gun!” That’s when Maisch saw the young man reach into his pocket and pull out another magazine for his weapon.

“I was able to grab the magazine and get hold of it so he couldn’t” reload, says Maisch.

Here’s part of Martin’s report in which you can hear Maisch talk about what happened:

She has also spoken with CBS News. Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.