Heroic vet rushes to aid of teen shooting victim in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) -- Jerome Pritchett, 29, had just dropped off a friend and was in the process of saying hi to some other friends and was about to walk to a small corner store at 10th and North Pine Streets in Wilmington.

It was April 7, a pleasant quiet evening he remembers. Shortly after 7 p.m. shots rang out. The U.S. Army combat vet, who served a tour in Afghanistan, agrees his military training kick in.

Instead of running, which might have drawn fire, he crouched behind a vehicle in order to get a sense of where the gunfire was coming from and not be caught in any potential cross fire.

As the gunfire subsided Pritchett says, " I saw someone limping. He limped into the store. I didn't know he was shot, there was no blood, no screaming"

But once inside there was screaming. The shooting victim was a teenager.

Pritchett, who also trained with the Wilmington Fire Department, followed the young man into the store.

The teen was shot in the leg and Pritchett said with the help of a young female who was in the store, he was able to use the teen's belt as a tourniquet.

The teen survived. Pritchett is glad he could help.

Pritchett recently received a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Wilmington. His goal is to become a classroom teacher. He hopes he can reach out and help young people who have become conditioned to street violence. He wants them to understand they can have a better life by focusing on their education.