CHICAGO — The mother of a 13-year-old in Chicago said she “can’t praise” the two police officers who rushed her son to the hospital “enough” after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting this week, according to reports.
“I’m highly grateful for you guys. Thank you that was a wonderful job,” Swaysee Rankin’s mother, Ashley Jackson said during a press conference, ABC7 Chicago reported.
Jackson said the fact that the officers took Rankin to the hospital in their patrol car instead of waiting for an ambulance “saved his life,” adding she plans to get their names and badge numbers so she can thank them properly.
Officers Rhonda Ward and Julius Givens, who were patrolling the Southside neighborhood Monday evening, saw Rankin and realized his wounds were too severe to wait for an ambulance so they carried the boy to their patrol car, ABC7 reported.
“A lady waved us down and said there was someone shot in her backyard across the street. We saw a young man waving his hands saying he was shot,” said Givens.
It took only a glance to see the bleeding victim near 82nd and S. Cole was only a boy who was just 13-years-old, and that there were no seconds to spare.
Givens stayed in the back with him, trying to keep him conscious. “He was in and out of consciousness, so we were trying to keep him alive and keep him up,” he said.
The teen was shot in the back and stomach, according to Fox.
Rankin’s mother said doctors told them he wouldn’t have any long-term injuries and the family is “praying for a speedy recovery” as he continues to undergo surgery.
“This violence has definitely got to stop immediately,” she said, adding that Rankin’s 14-year-old cousin was also shot but is expected to recover. “These kids do not deserve it. These are babies laying in these hospital beds.”
She called her son and his cousin “super strong.”
The shooting occurred at about 9:30 p.m. in the 8200-block of South Coles Avenue. Police said the boys were walking on the sidewalk when someone in a red Jeep Cherokee fired shots and took off, according to ABC7.
Officer Ward said she was glad Rankin trusted them to get him to the hospital. “It was just heartwarming for me that I could actually save a life because that’s what I got on this job to do,” she said.
