Cops Use Belt as Tourniquet to Stop Shot Teen's Bleeding

CHICAGO, IL — Officers responding to a shooting in the Austin neighborhood used first aid and a makeshift tourniquet to save a 16-year-old boy severely bleeding from a gunshot wound to his leg Wednesday, according to Chicago police.

The injured boy was discovered after police were called at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, concerning someone being shot at an apartment building in the 1100 block of North Lawler Avenue. When police arrived, the teen, who had been shot in the right leg, was lying on the floor of the apartment in pool of blood.

Officers quickly used a belt from one of the apartment's residents to fashion a tourniquet around the victim's leg, police said. They also applied pressure to the wound and calmed the teen while he waited for paramedics to arrive.

The boy was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, and his condition was stabilized, according to police.

Authorities did not release details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting or how the teen received the gunshot wound.

photo via Shutterstock

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