By Ashley Silver
Police1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri teen was honored this month for her bravery after jumping into action to save an officer who had been shot at a busy intersection.
According to FOX News, 17-year-old high schooler Ava Donegan was heading to a local shopping mall with her friends when she witnessed a man shoot Excelsior Springs officer Andrew Stott while they were stopped in traffic.
“Officer Stott ran to the vehicle Ava was in after he got shot. She did not know whether more bullets would fly, but she could see he needed help. He had been shot in the right arm and the left hand. Officer Stott pointed out where his tourniquet was on his outer carrier vest. Ava helped him retrieve it and put it on his wounded right arm,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook.
“When the officer said, ‘Can you help me with my tourniquet?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely, I can help you with your tourniquet.’ It was really useful to have that knowledge from my dad,” Donegan told reporters of the October incident.
Since the officer was unable to reach his radio due to his injuries, Donegan took control of the situation and was able to provide dispatchers with the necessary information to send help to the officer.
“Ava and her friend had come to Excelsior Springs that day to go shopping. She had no obligation to help a law enforcement officer in a life-or-death situation, but she did. Ava also assisted the Sheriff’s Office in our investigation of the incident, providing information about what she witnessed,” the sheriff’s office added on Facebook.
For her quick thinking and bravery, Donegan was honored with several awards last week, including the first-commissioned sheriff’s office challenge coin by Clay County Sheriff Will Akin, as well as a challenge coin by Excelsior Springs Police Chief Greg Dull. Excelsior Springs Mayor Sharon Powell also presented Donegan with a $2,000 scholarship provided by a local Ford dealership, according to FOX News.
“I can only imagine how proud your family is. You don’t see citizens these days take the chance in life to make a difference. I have never met the officer you helped, but I can assure you, if he was my son, I would be so thankful you were there on that horrible day to help him,” Mike Anderson of Chuck Anderson’s Excelsior Springs Ford dealership wrote in a letter that was read at a ceremony last week.
The teen humbly accepted her awards, stating, “I still think anyone would have done it, but I’m very grateful to be here.”
The suspect in the shooting, Carl Carrel, was fatally shot by other police officers following Stott being shot. An investigation remains ongoing.