Good Samaritan helps save shooting victim's life in Peoria

PEORIA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - A man was shot Friday night near 85th Avenue and Peoria after getting into an argument with another man. A third man and his girlfriend were just a few feet away from where the victim was shot.

The Good Samaritan was feeling the rush of emotions that ran through him as he held the wound of the man who was shot. Shock, fear, anxiety -- he doesn't want to be called a hero, because he says it was instinct.

The victim remains hospitalized and this witness is sharing the story of what happened that night.

"My first instinct was to get down and get to cover."

When the shooting began, this man, who wants to remain anonymous, says he pulled his girlfriend and himself to cover. He watched it all unfold -- what started as an argument turned into a man pulling a gun and firing off rounds. While everyone else scattered far away from the scene, this man saw the victim and couldn't turn his back.

"And while he was laying on the ground and he was screaming 'help me,' I said are you okay and he said he was shot."

The man, a former search and rescue crew member in New York, didn't think twice about dropping down to the ground to help the victim. He took the shirt off his back.

"I started applying pressure to the wound on the left side of his abdomen. I just did everything in my power. He was bleeding pretty heavily."

First responders were still on the way and a shooter was still on the loose.

"I was actually worried that the gentleman that was doing the shooting was gonna come back."

But not even fear wouldn't stop this man from trying to keep the victim alive.

"I would have done anything I could to keep him alive."

We know police have made an arrest in connection to this shooting. 38-year-old Henry Hudson was taken into custody. He now faces aggravated assault and weapons charges.