Daniel Hernandez, hero

by David Safier

UA junior Daniel Hernandez's role in helping keep Giffords stable after the shooting, and possibly saving her life, is beginning to be written about and discussed on television.

He had been interning with Giffords for five days. According to the Republic article, he ran to help Giffords before the shooting ended:

When the shots began that morning, he saw many people lying on the ground, including a young girl. Some were bleeding. Hernandez said he moved from person to person checking pulses.

"First the neck, then the wrist," he said. One man was already dead. Then he saw Giffords. She had fallen and was lying contorted on the sidewalk. She was bleeding.

Using his hand, Hernandez applied pressure to the entry wound on her forehead. He pulled her into his lap, holding her upright against him so she wouldn't choke on her own blood. Giffords was conscious, but quiet.

Not only that, but he told someone else how to apply pressure to Ron Barber's wound. Barber's comment at the moment speaks to the kind of man he is:

Ron Barber, Giffords' district director, was next to her. Hernandez told a bystander how to apply pressure to one of Barber's wounds.

Barber told Hernandez, "Make sure you stay with Gabby. Make sure you help Gabby."

Hernandez stayed with Giffords in the ambulance.

He stayed with Giffords until paramedics arrived. They strapped her to a board and loaded her into an ambulance. Hernandez climbed in with her. On the ride to the hospital, he held her hand. She squeezed his back.

When they arrived at the hospital, Hernandez was soaked in blood. His family brought him clean clothes because the FBI took his for evidence.

We owe a great deal of gratitude to this brave young man.