Openly gay Congressional intern, Dan Hernandez, was standing 30 feet away from Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz) during a Congress on your Corner event when gunshots were heard. Hernandez ran to where he believed the shots were fired, moving from victim to victim checking for pulses.
Hernandez told the Arizona Republic, “I didn’t even know if the gunfire had stopped.”
As soon as he got to Giffords’ body, Hernandez sat her up to prevent choking and then applied pressure to the bullet wound on her forehead with his hand. He said his nursing assistant and phlebotomy training in high school guided his medical actions.
Arizona Representative Matt Heinz told the Dallas Voice, “The fact that Hernandez was nearby and was able to react quickly probably saved Giffords’ life.”
Hernandez rode in the ambulance that took Giffords to the hospital. “She was my main focus so I stayed with her and tried to help her as much as possible.”
Hernandez is a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues and said that Giffords had been a great supporter of the LGBT community and was someone he looked up to, according to the Dallas Voice.
Somewhat modestly Hernandez told the Arizona Republic, “It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots, but people needed help.”
