A Good Samaritan helping an injured stranger in the wake of a fight-turned-shootout during Halloween celebrations in Tampa, Florida — which killed two people and injured 18 more — provided a spark of light during a grim situation.
Ybor City, a Tampa neighborhood known for its nightlife, was hit with horror early Sunday morning when Tyrell Phillips, 22, and at least one additional suspect allegedly instigated a shootout, which led to several injuries and two deaths.
While Tampa Police have taken Phillips into custody and are still on the search for the other suspect(s), Michael Giles’ heroic actions are being celebrated.
“I feel like I was supposed to be out there,” the young man told WFLA.
He recounted that fateful night, recalling how he was out with his friends and “could feel the anxiety that something was probably going to happen.”
After the gunshots rang out, “Everybody [was] just trampling over each other,” Giles said.
Disturbing videos taken by witnesses show harrowing scenes of Halloween partygoers lying on the sidewalk and street after being shot and trampled while being aided by emergency responders and other witnesses.
As the chaos ensued, Giles’ military training kicked into action.
“I felt like I knew what to do,” he told the local outlet, recounting the story of how he locked eyes with another young man who had been shot and ran over to provide help.
“When he was shot in the stomach, he got twisted, and he was sitting down,” Giles said.
He struck up a conversation with the victim while he provided first aid to ensure he did not lose consciousness, learning that the wounded bystander was 20 years old and from Georgia.
“I tried to check his body; I checked for [an] exit wound,” he said. “We did find an exit wound, so I tried to patch it up and tried to keep him conscious and tried to make sure we didn’t lose blood.”
First responders also moved to help the victim that Giles was caring for.
“To see the amount of people that kind of stepped up to help, it shows that people care for each other here right now,” the hero added.
Police Chief Lee Bercaw told the outlet that police are “looking for one to two shooters,” depending “on the witness statements and the videos that come forward.”