SAN ANTONIO- One of our own at WOAI is a hero after a woman was shot at a celebration downtown. It was a stray bullet, possibly someone randomly firing their weapon into the air. The woman's family is calling it a freak accident. They were in the crowd celebrating when things suddenly took a turn for the worse.
“Immediately after 12 o'clock (midnight), it hit my mom she just doubled over in pain screaming my foot is on fire,” explained Brian Sheehan.
Brian looked down to see what was causing his mom Brenda pain. And that's when he realized she had been shot in the foot.
He said, “I started to panic and I really didn't know what exactly to make of it, so I tried to pull the bullet out of her shoe”.
Shortly after, Brian and his family tried to get his mom away from the crowd by moving her close to the main stage. That’s where morning anchor Michael Garafalo and his camera crew were stationed for the live coverage of Celebration San Antonio.
Michael Garafalo said, “Next thing I know they drag her over by us and put her down because there was an area by the stage, and then the cops and the emergency personnel said there's no way to get an ambulance in here because it's just packed”.
With the Sheehan family not being from the area and visiting from Alabama they felt helpless. That’s until Michael stepped in.
“And I’m like wait a minute, I got the keys to the van for the station and the van is about 150 yards away. You guys want a ride I’m more than happy to give it to you,” explained Michael.
The next challenge was how to drive out amongst the crowd quickly and safely.
Michael Garafalo said, “And so like eight cops funnel us through the crowd carrying the woman as get to the van, put her in the van, and then we take off, head towards Nix hospital and drop them off”.
Brenda was lucky. She is able to walk, and didn't suffer any broken bones. She and her family were able to make their 10 AM flight back home.
