A Socorro, Texas, police officer ran inside a burning mobile home on Monday to save an eight-year-old boy and his family trapped inside, according to a shocking video.
The Instagram video showed the Socorro Police officer running towards the Texas mobile home where thick, black plumes of smoke and orange flames were coming out.
Cristobal Marin, who was on his way to pick up feed for his horses when he witnessed the incident, told CNN he drove towards the neighborhood to see if he could help as soon as he saw the smoke.
When he arrived, he saw the officer, wearing a bulletproof vest and a mask, running out of the flames carrying an eight-year-old boy.
“As I parked my patrol unit, I could feel the heat coming from the residence,” Officer Joshua Gonzalez told KVIA.
“Once I made myself present to the people standing by, I asked them what was going on, and they said somebody was inside the residence, that there were people in there … it was well within my heart and soul to run in and try and get these people out,” Gonzalez added.
The officer said that the home’s door was hot to the touch when he arrived and found two adults and the eight-year-old.
“The house was already full of smoke, I could barely breathe, and I even advised them, ‘cover your mouths,’ to try to get out as soon as possible safely,” Gonzalez said. “From that point, I grabbed the child, and I held him tight in my arms, and I ran out with him and got him to the street where there was a couple of neighbors … to take care of him.”
An off-duty firefighter brought the other two adults inside a home to safety. The boy was not injured, but an elderly adult was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
The Socorro Police Department thanked Gonzalez in a statement.
“The Socorro Police would also like to recognize one of their own, Officer Joshua Gonzalez, who undertook a selfless act, when he entered one of the houses to remove a family that was still located inside,” Socorro Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
The police department added that neighbors helped put out the flames by using water hoses until the fire department arrived.
The eight-year-old told Gonzalez at the scene that he was really sad that his football cleats got destroyed in the fire. Gonzalez offered to buy him new ones.