Immediately, Hernandez ran to where the shots were fired, moving
from person to person on the ground, checking for pulses.
“I don’t even know if the gunfire had stopped,” Hernandez
said according to the Arizona
Republic. When he came to Giffords’ wounded body, Hernandez first sat her
upright to prevent choking and then used his hand to apply pressure to the
bullet wound on her forehead. He said high school training as a nursing
assistant and in phlebotomy helped facilitate his medical action that day.
Doctors say this fast thinking was vital in saving
Giffords’ life.
“The fact that Hernandez was nearby and able to react
quickly probably saved Gifford’s life,” according to Arizona Rep. Matt Heinz,
in the Dallas
Voice.
“She was my main focus so I stayed with her and tried to
help her as much as possible,” Hernandez told his campus newspaper, the Wildcat.
The intern rode in the ambulance that took Giffords to the hospital, holding
her hand.
Hernandez, a member of the City of Tucson Commission on
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues, said that Giffords had been a
great supporter of the gay community and was someone he looked up to, according
to the Dallas Voice
“It was probably not the best idea to run toward the
gunshots, but people needed help,” he said in the Arizona Republic.
