NYPD Officer Rushes 4-Year-Old Shooting Victim To Safety

A shooting in Times Square injured three people, including a young child

As the nation begins to waken after a year of lockdown, the heartbreaking trend of gun violence wakens as well. Two women and a 4-year-old girl were injured in Times Square last weekend when gunfire erupted, prompting a New York police officer to leap into action.

In this video, NYPD Officer Alyssa Vogel — herself a new mother — can be seen sprinting through the busy tourist thoroughfare as a wounded child is lying in her arms. Vogel was trying her best to hurry the girl to the ambulance after the child was shot in the leg.

Vogel appeared on CNN on Monday. The officer said she heard reports of shots fired; when she arrived, she found two colleagues treating two women who had been shot. Her colleagues told Vogel a baby up the block had been shot.

Another officer was tending to the girl when Vogel arrived, but he needed a tourniquet to help stabilize her leg wound, Vogel said. The officer said she had one on her gun belt, so she fastened and tightened it around the girl’s leg. After checking to make sure the girl didn’t have any other bullet wounds, Vogel rushed away with the child in her arms.

“I just picked her up and started running to the ambulance because I wanted to get her to the hospital as soon as possible,” Vogel said.

The girl’s mother, who Vogel explained was (very understandably) panicking, ran after the officer and joined her daughter in the ambulance.

Vogel said she assured the girl’s mom that her 4-year-old would be fine. “I just wanted to reassure her that we were doing everything we could at that time to get her daughter to help,” she said.

NYPD released bodycam footage of the rescue.

https://www.instagram.com/p/COs6QUtAyk_/?igshid=1rfbhny1ew22a

“I was just trying to calm her down, trying to get her to breathe with me,” she said.

Vogel’s fast thinking has won her praise. A video of Vogel holding the child was tweeted by NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller, who commended the woman for her dedication.

“Whether they’re rushing toward the danger to help save a little girl or rushing home to family after their tour this #MothersDay — the dedication of NY’s Finest knows no bounds,” he said.

All three of the gunshot victims are in stable condition, said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. The women, a 23-year-old tourist from Rhode Island and a 43-year-old from New Jersey, and the girl, who lives in Brooklyn, are all presumed to be innocent bystanders, caught in the crossfire.

Despite extensive efforts, the NYPD has not yet been able to identify the individuals responsible for the shooting. Several photos and videos were posted to Twitter by the department of at least one suspect wanted in connection with the shooting.