National campaign was major focus at Sacramento National Night Out event
SACRAMENTO — A national campaign was a major focus at one of Sacramento's national night-out events. The annual event aims to build a stronger relationship between first responders and the local community.
Tuesday night's event came at a critical time for the Del Paso Heights community following recent deadly shootings in that area.
The matter of life and death often comes before a victim even arrives at an emergency room. So, following these deadly shootings, organizers for national night out in Del Paso Heights wanted to make a big focus on techniques to help save a life.
When it comes to a traumatic injury — like a shooting or stabbing — every second counts.
"You never know when it's going to happen," civilian Latrell Ludd said of potential violent crimes. "You got to be ready."
That's why Ludd and his son went to the event. Medical experts with Dignity Health were teaching the pair how to use a combat tourniquet, how to pack a wound, and how to apply pressure to help prevent death.
"I think it's an important attribute to add to your belt," Ludd said.
This training comes following several deadly shootings in the area, some of them involving teens.
In June, a Grant High School student was shot while sitting in a car outside of the school.
"This has happened before," Ludd said. "Kids are just chilling in their car, and somebody gets shot."
This is one of the reasons organizers wanted to include this training at Tuesday's event.
"It means more to us than it ever has in our 12 years of our community association in light of the fact that we've had such a large rash of shootings," said Gregory Jefferson with the Del Paso Heights Community Association.
People who stopped by the tent also learned about the locations of each emergency room and which ones are the closest.
"So we're trying to get them better instruction on what to do in an emergency," Jefferson said.
As a father, Ludd worries for his son's safety but hopes this training may make a difference.
"I know my child isn't exempt from anything that goes on in the community," he said. "Bullets don't have no names."