Nashville security officer comes to the aid of shooting victim
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Aug 28 2017 – Gun shots led a security guard to find a victim staggering for help on a sidewalk.
Phillip Garton was on duty early Saturday morning when he said at least two shots rang outside at 19th Avenue South and Chet Atkins Place in the Music Row area of Nashville.
The victim, a homeless man described to be in his 50s, stumbled across Garton and asked him to call for help.
“Got him to sit down and the expression on his face has been on my mind all day. I haven’t slept well at all today. It’s not right to get shot like that,” Garton said.
Officials with the Metro Nashville Police Department have been looking for two women who they said got out of a vehicle and shot a man around 3 a.m. Reports stated he had been sleeping in front of a building when he was shot.
A witness described the SUV as a newer model Lexus.
“To get shot like that, a homeless person at that. The city ought to take more into what we can do for the homeless people instead of letting incidences like this happen,” Garton said.
Garton said he stayed on the phone with the dispatcher until paramedics arrived. He thought he had lost the victim before paramedics got there.
“His eyes shut, and that’s what I didn’t want. I wanted him to stay conscious. When he shut them eyes, I let him back up,” he said.
Garton has worked security in the past, but this shooting was his first night at a new security job.
He said he plans to visit the victim in the hospital.
Garton attributed his time overseas in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for his selfless demeanor.
“I served 12 years with the National Guard as a refueler for ground troops. I got hurt over there and so you know, you have a lot more consideration and feelings for the people when you do something like that,” he said.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police.
