“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!
[H/t: faithit]
