Shot girl 'gave me a reason to be in a bad situation'
PORTLAND, Ore. – The teenager who was shot in the chest during Tuesday's Clackamas Town Center shooting and survived got help from a young woman during the chaos.
Even though Kristina Shevchenko, 15, had been shot, she was able to run. She made it through some doors and into a back corridor. But at that point she could go no farther. Amber Spackman saw Shevchenko go down and decided helping her was more important than her own escape from the shooter.
"I want her to know that she was incredibly brave. That she got out. I'm so thankful," Spackman said Thursday.
Spackman was trying on dresses when she heard the shots. She and her mother and sister ran to the back hallway where she saw Shevchenko fall to the ground.
"I felt the need to help," Spackman said. "I felt like, if she's hurt, someone needs to help her. I didn't know at that point if she was shot or not, but I knew she was not OK."
Though she was in danger herself, Spackman said she held Shevchenko's head and felt for a pulse. She saw no sign she'd been shot.
"She said she had a really bad pain in her lower side. So I lifted up her shirt and I felt for it. There was no gunshot wound, no nothing," said Spackman.
She said she and Shevchenko's friend helped her up and out and toward the exit. She is grateful she was able to help Shevchenko during the chaos, the violence and the fear.
"I'm proud of her for being so levelheaded, and I'm thankful that she gave me a reason to be in a bad situation," Spackman said. "That there came some good out of it (and) that I got to help someone. She kind of gave me a meaning to be there. I'm really thankful for that."
Spackman only found out later, when she was watching the news, Shevchenko had actually been shot in the chest. She said it was not obvious at the time.
She was also surprised to see scratches on her own feet: She had run out of the mall barefoot, leaving her clothes and things behind in the changing room.
Support is coming in for Shevchenko from people around the country who are responding to her family's request for prayers and financial help.
That young lady spoke the most beautiful words that my ears have ever heard.
Brave young woman to have risked her own saftey knowing it was dangerous to help he fellow.
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"She was also surprised to see scratches on her own feet: She had run out of the mall barefoot, leaving her clothes and things behind in the changing room."
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Here is something from Homeland Security
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0
I thank God for young people like Miss Spackman.
I went to high school with this girl, great to see her showing compassion like this.
i do herori things everday and do not seek the limelight..that is a true hero. the word hero gets thrown around mamy pamby and has become diluted.
 @Pixsure Syence So what heroic things do you do "every day?"
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Hero's are ordinary people who do extraordinary things in dangerous situations. Amber is one of those people.
 @RalphCramden Amen, Brother.
Another amazing hero!
You provide the rest of us a reason to believe in the good of humanity!
Thank you for your bravery.
Amazing what adrenaline can make our bodies do, best wishes to Kristina and her family.
I have to say that this incident (as horrible as it is) has brought about an outpouring of love and goodness in people. Sure wish it didn't take something like this to kick us in the ass and wake us up.
 @Lips ~  Isn't it the truth???   It's as if we get...too complacent or something... or maybe just too involved in ourselves and our immediate interests; we forget that everything around us can change course in a split second...  life is a fragile thing...Â
 @margay1  @Lips Love is all you need. It's all any of us need to make a difference in this world. Love is what fuels heroes' courage like Amber's...love in the form of compassion for a fellow being. People need to listen to their hearts more, instead of their heads alone. The heart is the compass that steers the mind. It's supposed to be, anyhow.
 @margay1 It really is, and it does. I always ran toward gunfire and if some citizen was armed and could shoot the skel??? Too many victims to count in this tragedy and I no longer carry a gun...