Officer Uses Tourniquet To Help Save Girl Shot In Drive-By: ‘It’s What I’m Sworn To Do’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CBS Local) — An 11-year-old girl who was shot in a drive-by shooting may have a police officer and his use of a tourniquet to thank for being alive.

The victim was asleep in her bedroom Sunday night when someone shot into her house in Kansas City.

As officers responded, they could hear someone screaming. They found an 11-year-old girl lying on her bed covered in blood, according to the Kansas City Police Department.

“The floor was covered, bed was covered. She lost a lot of blood,” KCPD Officer Jeremy Chick told CBS affiliate KCTV.

Chick pulled a tourniquet from his vest. It was made for an adult so he “had to put it pretty high up on her arm to stop the artery.”

She dug her nails into his arm as he asked her about things like her favorite song.

“Most people have never had a tourniquet put on. If you train with them you know that they hurt. They are painful. So I told her, ‘hey this is going to hurt, but it’s to help’,” Chick said.

Chick says the Sandy Hook shooting is what prompted him to get training and start carrying tourniquets. Every officer on the force has carried one since 2017. It was the fourth time he has used a tourniquet to save a life.

“It”s what I’m sworn to do. It’s what this city deserves,” Chick said.

Another officer helped treat the wound on the girl’s stomach, which was less serious, according to police.

Hospital staff says the girl will survive but her arm was severely injured.

Police don’t know who fired the shots and urged anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.