By Karla Ronquillo - email
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - An intern who had been on the job for five days is being credited for giving U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords critical help moments after the shooting.
Giffords was one of 19 people wounded when a gunman opened fire at a "Congress on Your Side" event in Marana on Saturday.
Six of victims were killed, including a federal judge, a nine-year-old girl and a member of Giffords' staff.
The suspected gunman Jared Loughner, 22, is in police custody.
A second person of interest is being sought.
According to University Medical Center officials, Daniel Hernandez ran to Giffords' side, pulled her onto his lap and held her head upright to help stop the bleeding.
Hernandez, a junior at the University of Arizona, is a trained nurse.
In an interview to CNN, Hernandez said "when the shooting started, my first instinct was to try and make sure that the congresswoman and her staff were okay. I have limited experience in triage and training, so when I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head towards the congresswoman to make sure that she was okay. Once I saw that she was down and there were more than one victim, I went ahead and started doing the limited triage that I could with what I had, so checking for pulses and then also making sure that -- covering and applying pressure to the wounds."
Hernandez said he stayed with Giffords until paramedics arrived and rode with her in the ambulance.
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