Four Woodward High School students were honored by the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners with their own day after each rendered life-saving first aid to classmates suffering from gunshot wounds in two separate shootings outside the school this year.
In February, seniors Jaileyana Fraley and Lagena Johnson were on Woodward's campus when one of their classmates was shot nearbyand returned to the school for help. That's when the two sprung into action, providing the student with medical attention and applying pressure to his wounds until emergency services arrived.
Fraley and Johnson say they were able to act quickly and remain calm in that tense moment because of the training they received in school. Both had recently taken "Stop the Bleed" training which gave them the tools they needed to provide life-saving treatment at the scene.
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"That's what we were trained to do," Johnson said. "We're trained to remain calm in situations like that because it could actually mess with the patient if you are not in the right state. You have to make sure the patient is OK at the end of the day."
Only a few weeks later, junior Brooklyn Turner and sophomore Delamonte Andrews found themselves in a similar emergency situation when two Woodward students were shot at a bus stop outside the school in April.
Turner and Andrews were standing near the bus stop when the shooting happened. At that moment, Turner says many students either panicked or froze, but she knew she had to take action.
"I just had to get into the mode, like 'This is what I got to do. I've got to do it fast,' " Turner said.
She, along with Andrews, applied pressure to the wounds of the two students and waited by their side until help arrived.
For Andrews, the shooting hit especially close to home as one of the victims was his cousin. He used his own jacket to prevent his cousin from losing too much blood and saved his life in the process.
While he doesn't see himself as a hero, Andrews says his actions meant the world to his family.
"My grandma, she was happy that I helped out my cousin," Andrews said. "They're saying I'm like a little hero when it comes to that and I'm thankful for all the people that noticed that and was thankful that I did good."
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All four students say they want this recognition to inspire their classmates and bring a positive change to their school.
Since the two shootings, Woodward students organized a walkout and a community discussion to address the recent violence near the school.
May 4 and 5 are declared to be Woodward Student Heroes Day to highlight the bravery of the four students and show that compassion can yield something good from a tragic situation.
