The ‘Kirby hero’: Teen says she helped classmate stay conscious after he was shot

MEMPHIS, TN. — A Kirby High School student is being honored as a hero, almost two weeks after her mom says she helped her classmate stay conscious after he was shot.

15-year-old C’Azia Hamilton said in her mind, she was just doing the right thing.

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“I heard shooting and everyone was running back to the school,” she said.

Terror. That’s what Hamilton says she and her classmates were feeling back on November 30 just after dismissal.

She said that’s when she saw the person shot was her friend and classmate.

“I took him to the bench in front of the school and sat him down, I was telling everyone to call 911,” said Hamilton.

The teen said although she has no medical background or experience, her instincts instantly kicked in.

“When I saw the wound on his leg, I took my ROTC belt off, tied it around his leg, and made sure he stayed stable. Everybody’s calling 911, they called his parents, and so far he was good. I kept him up a while,” she said.

As she was working to save her classmate’s life, creating a tourniquet with her belt, her mother, Rashondralynn, says she was in a panic after her daughter’s friend called her that afternoon.

“She was like ‘is this C’Azia’s mom?’, and I was like ‘yeah’, and she was like ‘there was a shooting’, and I was like ‘wait a minute, where’s my daughter, is she ok, why is my daughter not calling me?’”

Luckily, she said her daughter was ok.

And she considers C’azia a hero.

“To hear her being held as a hero, I’m proud of her, especially with something she’s never learned before, I’m proud of her,” said the mom.

But for the 15-year-old, she said all she did was help, but it’s earned her a new nickname with her classmates.

“They was proud of me, some of them call me the ‘Kirby hero’.”

Hamilton said her ROTC sergeant is also sending a letter to Washington to get even more recognition for her bravery.

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