It was closing in on 2 AM early on Sunday morning in Orlando. The patrons of the The Pulse, Orlando’s top gay hot spot, shuffled toward the bar when, all of a sudden, there were several loud pops that many thought sounded like firecrackers. Josh McGill, 26, and his room mate began looking around as the chaos erupted. Omar Marteen, 29, a Muslim ex security guard who had already pledged is undying allegiance to the Islamic State, had begun blasting away.
When the smoke had cleared three hours later, Marteen, as well as 50 of his murder victims lay dead and 53 others were severely wounded.
As soon as McGill realized that the place was under attack, he dropped down on the floor and crawled outside to the patio and eventually made it to the fence in the outside parking lot. McGill heard yelling and screaming and bullets flying. There were bodies and blood everywhere. When McGill made it to the perimeter he saw the police huddled up nearby. More shooting caused McGill to take cover behind a car. He, eventually, crawled under it waiting for a chance to make a run for the police perimeter.
McGill crawled back out from under the car when he saw a bleeding man staggering his way. “Can you help me? I think I’ve been shot.” the man said. “Sure”, replied McGill. “Don’t worry, I got you.”
The stranger was profusely bleeding from bullet wounds in each of his arms. McGill knew he had to somehow stop the bleeding and when he turned the man over he saw that his shirt was drenched with blood from another bullet wound in his back. Blood was now covering his jeans but McGill pulled off his sweater and wrapped it tightly around one of the man’s arms and then took off the stranger’s blood soaked shirt and wrapped his other arm.
McGill helped the stranger up and told him they just had to make it to the police perimeter. When they made it there, McGill shouted out to another stranger asking him for his shirt. The new stranger stripped off his shirt without words and McGill began trying to stop the bleeding in the back with it.
They made it to the police and an officer took them to a cruiser and told them they would get them to a nearby emergency room. The cop told McGill to lay down on his back in the back seat. They then placed the bleeding stranger on top of him. The cop said that McGill had to keep him conscious until they reached the emergency room. McGill took the stranger in a bear hug.
McGills arms were now covered in blood. “Hi,” McGill said. “My name is Josh.”
“I am Rodney,” the desperately wounded man replied. “I’m from Jacksonville.”
“I don’t know if you’re religious or not but a will say a prayer with you,” McGill said.
Rodney nodded and mumbled and put his head back down on McGill’s chest. They got to the hospital and Rodney was wheeled away. Some time later McGill tracked down a doctor who told him that Rodney would live and that he was recovering. Later on Sunday afternoon, McGill returned to the hospital to visit with the man whose life he had so bravely saved and in whose arms they prayed together.
The doctor’s told McGill that he couldn’t get in to see him.
PHOTO CREDIT: ABC News