MIAMI – Students and staff at Miami Killian Senior High School are calling a senior student a hero after she helped save the life of her friend who was stabbed by a classmate in March.
Arelis Jimenez was moved to tears as she received a standing ovation Thursday while receiving an award for her quick thinking.
"I was there for my friend at a moment of need. And that's all I could ask for," Jimenez said. "Thank God I was there when I was there."
Police said DeAndre Johnson, 15, was stabbed by Briah Rolle, 17, March 31 in the school's cafeteria. While others stood in shock, Jimenez jumped into action, applying pressure to the stab wound. She said she remembers it all as a blur.
"It was out of instincts, honestly," Jimenez said.
Jimenez said she knows CPR and has first aid training.
Jimenez and nine other students were honored Thursday as part of Miami Police Department's "Do The Right Thing" program.
"At the end of the day, we want to honor the student for the great service that she did for the school, for the student that day, and for the entire public," Chief Ian Moffett of Miami Dade Public Schools police said.
Jimenez said she is humbled by all the recognition and is just happy that her friend is doing well.
"(I) did what any other human being should have done," Jimenez said.
Jimenez said she hopes her story will inspire other students to get first aid training and learn how to perform CPR, saying she believes it can make all the difference.
Rolle has been in juvenile detention since her arrest. Her next hearing is scheduled for June 3, where a judge could decide to charge her as an adult.
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