It’s a Saturday night in Excelsior, Minnesota and you’re a 17-year-old girl on the way to do some thrift shopping with your boyfriend… What could go wrong?
That is what high-school senior Ava Donegan was thinking as she and her boyfriend pulled up to stop at a red light.
Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong in a very short period of time.
As Ava and her boyfriend sat in her car waiting for the light to change something unbelievable and unexpected happened.
The pair ended up sitting in the middle of a gunfight between a criminal and two police officers.
The police had spotted a man they knew had warrants out for his arrest, warrants based around assaulting the police.
When the officers got out of their car to approach the suspect vehicle, the suspect also got out of his car.
He raised a weapon and fired multiple shots at the police, hitting one of the officers multiple times before he himself was shot and killed.
The injured officer approached Ava’s vehicle and asked her to help him tourniquet his wounds.
Ava, who had never even heard real gunfire before let alone seen a man be shot, immediately got out of her car and went to help.
With her father as a trauma nurse and Ava herself wanting to go into the medical field, she knew how the tourniquet worked and was able to help the officer.
She helped keep pressure on the officer’s wounds until the ambulance arrived and took over.
In an interview the next morning, Ava talked about how it was all she could think about, she went to bed thinking about it and woke up thinking about it.
Luckily, her efforts to help the officer were not in vain and, though he will have to go through multiple surgeries, he is OK.
A month after the incident the people in the Excelsior Police Department wanted to honor Ava and her life-saving efforts.
She was invited to a yearly ceremony the department holds in order to recognize citizens that have helped their community and the officers who protect it.
Ava had no idea what to expect going into the ceremony and was surprised when she was honored not once, not twice, but three times throughout the proceedings.
The county sheriff, public information officer, and many others were there to watch the event.
Will Akin, the sheriff of Clay County where Excelsior is located, presented Ava with a Certificate of Recognition as well as 2 Challenge Coins, one for Clay County and one for the Excelsior Police Department, these are given to all law enforcement officers upon graduation.
She was also honored with a $2000 scholarship from a local Ford dealership.
“You will always be known to be a brave young woman who made a difference.” said the letter in which her scholarship was presented.
In an interview after the ceremony Ava had this to say, “I still think anyone would have done it, but I’m very grateful to be here.”
Check out the young girls’ bravery in the video below.
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