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EMT recounts heroic rescue of 14-year-old Apalachee HS shooting victim

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Updated  November 8, 2024 4:02pm EST
Apalachee High School shooting
FOX 5 Atlanta

EMTs honored for helping Apalachee HS shooting victim

Three EMTs are being honored for helping an Apalachee High School shooting victim. They are being called angels in the sky.

The Brief

    • First responders from across North Georgia quickly converged at Apalachee High School following a shooting, providing life-saving treatment and transport to the injured.
    • A 14-year-old girl who was critically injured and shot multiple times was saved by a medevac team's rapid care, including a tourniquet, blood transfusions, and oxygen.
    • The medevac team, comprising Matthew Dine, Lindsey Chapman, and Trey Phillips, emphasized the crucial role of timing in trauma response, highlighting that fast service can save lives.
    • After receiving the dispatch about the shooting, the experienced flight nurse strategized to reposition the aircraft closer to the incident, significantly reducing response time.
    • Trey Phillips, who had also responded to the Heritage High School shooting in 1999, discussed the emotional challenges of dealing with traumatic events, especially when children are involved.

SNELLVILLE, Ga. - When a gunman opened fire inside Apalachee High School first responders from all over north Georgia raced to the scene. They not only came by ground but by air, rushing those injured to the nearest trauma center for treatment. 

A medevac team, often referred to as "angels in the sky," transported a critically injured 14-year-old girl to Piedmont Eastside Hospital after she was shot multiple times. Their swift response and life-saving care, including a tourniquet, emergency blood transfusions, and oxygen, ensured that she survived her injuries and is now able to share her story.

Matthew Dine, Lindsey Chapman, and Trey Phillips made up that team that day.

"Timing is everything in trauma. The fastest we can get to the patient and start lifesaving procedures and then get them to the trauma center just really saves lives," said flight nurse Trey Phillips.

After hearing the initial dispatch, the veteran flight nurse had the idea to move the aircraft close to the school, cutting response time down to minutes. 

From the outside, these helicopters look huge, but inside they are sitting shoulder to shoulder.

The team visited that young teen a few days later.

"It was really great to see her sitting up and being responsive. We haven’t heard from her since, so if she is watching, we are glad you are back home and recovering well," Dine said.

"It's just difficult. This kind of stuff shouldn't happen. It shouldn't happen in life so it's hard," Chapman said.

It was especially hard Phillips, who responded to the 1999 heritage high school mass shooting that wounded six. 

"You don't think you're going to do it once and two times is certainly too many," he said. "In this line of work, you have to have a switch to where you can shut your emotions off and be able to do your job. It's after the call you have to deal with the emotions you have. We are all parents, I’m a grandparent. Kids really hit you hard."