Alyssa Vogel says she was thinking of her own baby son when she rescued a girl struck by gunfire in Times Square. Two others were also shot, and police released surveillance images of the suspected gunman, who cops say was aiming for his brother.
The hero police officer who was captured on video sprinting through Times Square with a wounded child in her arms is speaking out to Inside Edition. Alyssa Vogel carried 4-year-old Skye Martinez to safety after she and two other bystanders were struck by gunfire Saturday.
“I just picked her up the way I would pick up my own kid and ran her to the ambulance, because I just felt like I didn't want to wait for them to come to me,” Vogel told Inside Edition.
The officer is being credited with saving Skye’s life by using a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
“I had one on my gun belt. So I took it off my gun belt, and I started to put it on her. And it’s a very painful thing to do to somebody, but this little girl was so strong and so brave, and she didn’t even shed a tear,” Vogel said.
Vogel’s husband is also a cop, and they have a 6-month-old son. Vogel said she was thinking of her own child when the call came in.
“I had just gotten off the phone with my mother, actually FaceTiming my son, when this job had come over. So, seeing this little girl in the street, I knew I had to do whatever I could to make sure that she had the best help possible,” Vogel said.
Skye was one of three innocent bystanders hit by bullets when gunfire erupted in Times Square. The gunshots can be heard in chilling surveillance video. Wendy Magrinat, 23, of Rhode Island was shot in the thigh while sightseeing in New York with her family for Mother’s Day.
“I saw a police officer, and I screamed to him, 'I’m shot. I have a 2-year-old. I don’t want to die,’” Magrinat said.
Police released video of the suspected shooter, 31-year-old Farrakhan Muhammed, who reportedly sells bootleg CDs in Times Square. Cops say he was aiming for his brother and hit bystanders.
“When I got home, I definitely hugged my son a little tighter that night,” Vogel said.
Police did not recover a gun, but three shell casings from a .25-caliber firearm were found at the scene.
