Photo By Master Sgt. Gary Witte | U.S. Army Sgt. Michael A. Jones Jr. of metro Atlanta, a supply NCO for the 642nd...... read more read more
ATLANTA - If U.S. Army Sgt. Michael A. Jones Jr. had a choice, he wouldn’t have told his unit about the streetside shooting or his actions.
Instead, his transformation from passerby to urgent caregiver of a gunshot victim Sept. 10 in metro Atlanta, has resulted in praise and plaudits from officials.
DeKalb County Police Capt. S.R. Fore, a spokesman for the department, called Jones’ actions brave and heroic.
“The immediate attention and first-aid rendered by Sgt. Jones undoubtedly slowed the blood loss and very well may have saved the victim’s life,” Fore said. “He took immediate action with his concerns focused on the well-being and survival of the victim.”
On the day of the incident, Jones, a supply NCO for the 642nd Regional Support Group, left his unit’s office to pick up lunch at a nearby fast food restaurant on Covington Highway. While driving back with the windows rolled down, he heard what he first took to be a firecracker. Then the sound repeated, again, again and again.
“When they were back-to-back the way they were, I knew they were gunshots,” Jones said.
He saw a man laid on the sidewalk, a woman next to him. When Jones pulled over, he saw two men running away. When he rushed to the victim, he could see a pool of blood spreading under one of the man’s legs.
Jones tried calling 911, but received no answer as he evaluated the man. Jones took his belt and attempted a tourniquet around the victim’s leg, but the bleeding continued. A crowd began to gather, so he instructed one of the bystanders to call 911 and waived them back.
It was time to try something more extreme. He knew from his military combat lifesaver training that if the man’s femoral artery had been hit, the victim would quickly bleed to death. So Jones placed his knee over the man’s thigh and pressed his full weight on it. The bleeding seemed to stop.
“There were a lot of people,” Jones said of the crowd. “A lot of traffic. People slowing their cars to see what was going on.”
The victim, who appeared to be drifting in and out of consciousness, tried to lay back and close his eyes.
“I said you’ve got to stay awake,” Jones said. “You’ve got to talk to me.”
Once medical personnel arrived, they took over. Jones stayed for an hour to provide his statement and help police look for brass shells from the shooting. He eventually returned to the Army Reserve Center. He had to tell his unit about the incident because he was covered from knee to thigh in drying blood.
Even after cleaning his hands at the scene, it was still under his fingernails and even on his face.
“I don’t know how the heck I had blood on my face,” Jones said.
Col. James T. Wilson, who commands the 642nd Regional Support Group, said the sergeant is a shining example of the type of Soldier the Army has in its reserve components.
“Because of his courage, training and will to help, a tragedy was averted,” Wilson said. “It is Soldiers like Sgt. Jones who make us proud each and every day. He is a tremendous asset.”
Jones has dealt with stressful situations before, although never a gunshot victim. During his previous career as a corrections officer, he said he twice tried to resuscitate fatally injured prisoners. He also deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 with the 396th Military Police Detachment.
He was born in New York and grew up in the Bronx until his teens, then lived in Queens until he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After several years in the service, he became a corrections officer in Arizona and then joined the U.S. Army Reserves. He moved to metro Atlanta and became part of the 642nd Regional Support Group in May.
Jones credits his combat lifesaver training with enabling him to render emergency medical care properly. Last August, he took part in a refresher course, where he had to simulate treatment of an amputee and a gunshot wound to the chest – complete with fake blood. He even had to use his belt as a tourniquet.
Regarding the real-life shooting, he denies being a hero.
“If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else,” Jones said, noting several people in the crowd offered to help him with the wounded man. “I did what I think everyone else would do, whether in uniform or not.”
The victim, Michael Harris of Atlanta, was sent to Grady Hospital in serious condition. By the following weekend, his condition was upgraded to stable and he turned 26 that Sunday.
Jones was pleased to hear the young man survived and overjoyed he was able to see another birthday.
“When I heard about it, I was ecstatic,” he said. “I was able to help someone not be a statistic and that’s how I look at it.”
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2015 17:46 |
| Story ID: | 178275 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 638 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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