CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte firefighter happened to be in the right place at the right time when someone was shot in a busy Steele Creek shopping center earlier in October.
As police responded to the shooting at the Berewick Town Center, they discovered that a firefighter was already there working to help save the victim’s life.
Now, for the first time since the shooting, that firefighter, Michael Cunningham, spoke to Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz. He said that around the same time of the shooting, he was walking out of a grocery store when he saw what was happening and jumped into action.
“I was picking up lunch at the grocery store at the Harris Teeter and as I was walking out, I saw a car run past and make impact with another car,” he said. “I had a gentleman yell to me that somebody had been shot.”
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Cunningham said he assessed the situation and rushed to help, saving a man’s life.
“I lifted up his shirt and saw that it was an entry wound that was gushing blood. I took his coat that he had held up and I put pressure on it and held pressure on it and told him to keep calm and take deep breaths until medic arrived,” Cunningham said.
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According to police, the shooting happened after a botched Facebook Marketplace sale between two people. Investigators said the man who was trying to sell a stolen car shot the man who was trying to buy it.
Authorities quickly tracked down the suspect at a nearby hotel.
Cunningham said he is just thankful that he was able to react quickly, as well as being in the right place at the right time and having the skills to save a life.
“I attribute it mostly to my training. We’ve had active shooter training, we’ve also been put in situations that make you feel uncomfortable. At that time, I knew it was my job as a firefighter to help and I did so, the best way I knew how,” he said. “I see myself doing something that I hope someone else would do in that moment — is taking care of the fellow man.”
Last week, Cunningham received the Charlotte Fire Department’s Medal of Valor for what he did at the shopping center. The chief said Cunningham “demonstrated courage and dedication despite the risk.”
(WATCH BELOW: Charlotte firefighter buying groceries renders aid to shooting victim at shopping center)
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