Two nurses were among four honored Thursday for helping a Kentucky State Police trooper who was shot and wounded in July by a gunman who then went on a shooting spree at a church, killing two and wounding two.
On July 13, Kentucky State Trooper Jude Remilien, was shot and wounded by a gunman—identified as Guy House—during a traffic stop outside Lexington's Blue Grass Airport, the Louisville Courier Journal reports. Remilien had initiated the stop after receiving an alert about House's vehicle, because he was wanted on an active warrant.
Following the failed stop, House carjacked a vehicle and drove to the Richmond Road Baptist Church. Once there, he shot and killed two people and critically wounded two others before he was fatally shot by Lexington police.
Jessica and Jimmy Alexander and Taylor Hall had come across a wounded Remilien shortly after the shooting. In recently released body camera footage, Jessica Alexander and Hall, who are nurses, immediately rushed to Remilien's aid, making sure the trooper stayed awake and making a tourniquet out of a belt in an effort to stop his bleeding.
"If that was my son or me, I would want someone to do the same thing," Jimmy Alexander told WLEX-TV about why he and his wife stopped to help. "That's just how I was raised—always taking care of other people. Not really thinking twice about should I or not. It's just what we should do as human beings when we see somebody else struggling in a situation like that."
On Thursday, the Alexanders and Hall, along with Blue Grass Airport Police Officer Adam Arnold, received Citations for Meritorious Achievement, which is the highest honor a civilian can receive from the Kentucky State Police. State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. lauded the quartet's "kind of courage and character that cannot be taught,” according to the Courier Journal.
At the ceremony, Remilien met with the good Samaritans who helped save his life for the first time since the shooting, hugging and thanking them for their actions.
“It’s so great to finally meet this team of heroes," said the trooper. "They didn’t hesitate to come on scene and assist me. It’s an honor to stand next to you in-person today while you receive the Citation for Meritorious Achievement. All four of you will forever hold a special place in my heart.”
Jimmy Alexander said the greatest reward the group received for its actions was seeing a healthy Remilien.
“We were all in the right place at the right time, and we are so thankful that he is OK,” he said.
"I just feel, in my heart, better—seeing him up, walking and everything," Alexander said.
