NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) —”I have saved more lives and protected myself and others more with a tourniquet or a trauma kit than I have with a firearm,” said Brannon LeBouef.
Because LeBouef was at the right place at the right time Sunday night, a man is still alive.
“I was in the 4000 block of Downman Road and an individual ran up to a business and said he had been shot,” said LeBouef.
LeBouef says the man was shot three times and one shot hit an artery in the victim’s arm.
“That one was of most concern,” said LeBouef.
Using his police and Marine training, LeBouef administered a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
“We applied the tourniquet to that and of course called 911, stabilized him, moved him out of the area because there were thoughts that there were still people in the area trying to find him,” said LeBouef.
Over the last three days, there have been more than a dozen shootings and data from the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission shows that violent crime isn’t slowing down.
“We’re looking at 14 shootings including, one mass shooting, so that one be one incident, but there were four people shot,” said Rafael Goyeneche, President of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission.
LeBouef says while it’s important to know how to physically defend yourself, there’s no substitute to effectively administering first aid.
“When you say self defense, most people either think about fighting or guns, and both of those elements are important. But what I say is in order to defend yourself completely, you have to have the ability to make a hole and fix a hole,” said LeBouef.
For more information on how to use a tourniquet, where to get one and defense training, you can contact LeBouef at brannon@nolatac.com.