Daniel Hernandez: Gabrielle Giffords' Intern May Have Saved Her

by MROliver | January 9, 2011 at 05:38 pm

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Daniel Hernandez Was Gabrielle Giffords' Intern When She Was Shot on Saturday in Tuscon

Many are praising the actions of Hernandez today, who was standing near Giffords when she was shot in the head. He had only been her intern for five days, but rushed to her side when she went down, held her head in his lap and applied consistent pressure to the wound.

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He is a junior at the University of Arizona and he also advised others what to do with the other wounded people while they waited for help to arrive, according to MSNBC.

"It was a shock that she was hit," he said.

"But then... I was able to shut off all emotions and just get to work because (Giffords) needed help as did some of the other people around her," Hernandez told msnbc.

Giffords was alert, but couldn't talk.

The way that she was communicating was by grabbing my hand," Hernandez says. "I would ask her a question and she would squeeze my hand in a way to acknowledge that she was still conscious and awake and still able to hear what I was saying."

Hernandez had taken some first aid courses in high school but he is being hailed as heroic for his actions on Saturday.