--- title: "This Marine used everything he learned in first aid training to save a shooting victim" description: "When a man was shot multiple times, Marine Sgt. Amed Issa applied just about every element of first aid training to treat the victim." date: "2023-01-25" modified: "2023-01-25" authors: - name: "Max Hauptman" job_title: "Breaking News Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/max-hauptman/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-corps-amed-issa-hawaii-shooting-first-aid/" categories: - "Marine Corps" - "Military Branches" - "News" tags: - "shooting" --- # This Marine used everything he learned in first aid training to save a shooting victim ![Marine Corps Sgt. Amed Issa Hawaii shooting first aid]() *U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Amed Issa, a rifleman with 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, participates in a Combat Marksmanship Program range at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, July 8, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps)* When Marine Corps Sgt. Amed Issa walked into a crowded bar in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu on the night of Jan. 6, 2023, he wasn’t planning on staying long. In fact, as he [described]() in a Marine Corps news release, he’d only gone inside to use the restroom. When gunfire broke out, however, Issa ran toward the sound of that gunfire and wound up performing extensive first aid on a man who had been shot multiple times. “I ran toward the shots, pushing people down to cover. It was hard to tell what was going on,” [said]() Issa. “I thought someone was trying to come into the bar with a gun. I ran out of the bar as the first gunman shot a man on the sidewalk at close range.” When Issa first reached the wounded man, one of the two attackers was still shooting at him. Hawaii News Now later reported that at least [20 shell casings]() were found on the street where the shooting occurred. [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.** “He was littered with gunshot wounds,” Issa [said](). “I removed his shirt so I could better assess the wounds on his chest.” The victim had been shot multiple times in the torso and legs, including a sucking chest wound. Issa first applied pressure to a wound on the victim’s chest that was pooling with blood. “I applied pressure to the torso until a man came over to help. I instructed him to take my place applying pressure so I could continue assessing the man,” Issa [said](). Issa then used his shirt as a tourniquet for the victim’s right leg, cinching down with a fork, all while making sure the victim remained conscious. When police officers arrived, Issa asked them for actual tourniquets, and then applied those to both legs. “My friend had come out and helped apply a chest seal. Then a nurse came over and helped us apply pressure to the wounds. I was able to get gauze and was able to fill most of the wounds,” Issa [said](). “A police medic arrived shortly later and checked that we’d applied everything correctly.” The victim, a 25-year-old man, was later transported to a nearby hospital and was listed in critical condition after arriving, according to [Hawaii News Now](). “At the beginning, when I saw everyone get down and I heard the shots, I didn’t think, ‘I should get up and help.’ I just started running that way. It just felt like training,” Issa [said](). Issa, a rifleman with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, completed Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in August 2022. He is currently in the process of applying to universities and will begin attending college in the fall through the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program. “It takes tremendous courage to do what Sgt. Issa did,” [said]() Lt. Col. Felix Guerra III, Issa’s former battalion commander. “Despite being off duty and on liberty, he still acted like a Marine.” “He risked his life and took action for a complete stranger. He embodied what it means to be a Marine,” Guerra III [added](). ## The latest on Task & Purpose - **The Navy wiped the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ director’s camera after he ‘**[**captured something I wasn’t supposed to capture**]()**’** - [**Marine under investigation**]() **after viral video showed altercation with hotel staff** - **Fighter pilot to receive Navy Cross more than 70 years after classified** [**dogfight with 7 Soviet jets**]() - [**2 Navy commanders fired**]() **in one day** - **The Marines have a new** [**ship-killing weapons system**]() **to counter China** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**.** ## Author Max Hauptman is a former breaking news reporter at Task & Purpose. He previously worked at The Washington Post as a Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow, as well as covering local news in New England. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Instagram]()