“I felt God put me at the club and made me
stay behind…”
Amidst the aftermath of the heart-wrenching
mass shooting in Orlando, a few heroic stories are piercing this dark tragedy
with a much-needed ray of light. One such story is that of Joshua McGill, a man
who believes God put him at that club Sunday morning in order to save a young
man named Rodney.
Since Love What Matters posted his emotional
account to Facebook, thousands across the web have been inspired by the bravery
and faith that McGill showed in the middle of the shooting.
The post reads:
Joshua McGill was in attendance at the
Orlando nightclub during the horrific shooting yesterday. Hiding behind a car,
he tended to and rescued a stranger known as Rodney.
The stranger stumbled to Joshua, mumbling,
“Can you help me?”
McGill quickly grabbed the man as he said, “I
think I got shot.”
“Don’t worry, I got you,” McGill responded.
Josh was told by police to keep the man
conscious no matter what.
“Hey, man, my name is Josh, What do you do?”
He said.
“My name is Rodney. I’m from Jacksonville,”
Rodney whispered.
“I don’t know if you’re religious or not, but
I’ll say a prayer with you,” McGill said.
Recounting the tale on Facebook, McGill
wrote:
There was a very tragic thing that happened
tonight. Thoughts and prayers for everyone at Pulse or that know anyone that
was at Pulse. It was very crazy and a traumatic experience. I’m very thankful I
got away safe and a lot of other people I know and care about did as well. I
hid under a car and found one of the victims that was shot. I tied my shirt and
his shirt over his wounds to stop the bleeding and got him secretly to the
nearest officer who then transported us to the ER. Words cannot and will not
describe the feeling of that. Being covered in blood.. Trying to save a guy’s
life that I don’t even know regardless that I’m fine..just traumatized. The
things I had to say to the guy and make promises I didn’t know I would be able
to keep or not to keep him conscious while holding him as tight as I could and
blood everywhere on me. Saying a prayer for him and letting him know I will be
here waiting for him. It sucks because all I got was his name and I can’t even
see if he’s okay because I’m not related. If anyone knows of a guy named Rodney
that was shot and injured tonight.. Please let me know he is okay. I felt God
put me at the club and made me stay behind to help a complete stranger. For
whatever reason that may be.. I don’t know, but I do know it was hopefully to
save his life. Maybe God be with us all in this time of need.”
Rodney had been shot multiple times including
both his arms and his back. Joshua created a tourniquet from his shirt and
applied pressure to the wounds, comforting the stranger. Then, when it appeared
safe, they ran out from underneath the vehicle, across the street to the police
perimeter. They were sent to a hospital in a police car, where Joshua continued
to tend to Rodney’s wounds during the ride. Rodney is reported to be in stable
condition.
We’ll be shining a spotlight onto the helpers
in this tragedy. Thank you, Joshua, for being one of these heroes.
Since the post went viral, several commenters
have assured Joshua that Rodney is in stable condition.
In the middle of the mass chaos, it’s
beautiful to see that not all the Orlando stories ended in tragedy.
And though we can’t comprehend why such an
act of pure evil could happen, there is comfort in knowing that God is still at
work through people like Joshua. Kudos to this courageous young man!
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