National campaign teaches gunshot first aid for bystanders

Recently, Abdullah — who also lost a younger brother and four nephews to gun violence — joined more than 50 of his neighbors at an elementary school to learn how to help the next victim in time.

Borrowing from battlefield tactics, the trainers teach neighborhood residents how to tighten a tourniquet around someone’s arm, drag them to safety, apply pressure to major arteries to stop bleeding, and position victims in a vehicle before rushing them to a hospital.

The program is part of a national campaign by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called “Stop the Bleed,” which recognizes that no matter how fast emergency responders get to a scene, bystanders will be there first.