SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Sgt. Joey Sepulveda arrived at Methodist Hospital Texsan emergency entrance with lights flashing. This time it was not for treatment. It was to say thank you for saving his life. He did not get that chance when he arrived after being shot at point blank range on February 3.
“The last thing I heard was we’re giving you something and you’re going to go out,” Sepulveda said. “All right. That was it. I was in their hands.”
He was also celebrating a milestone with the Balcones Heights Police Department the day he arrived wounded at the hospital.
“On that day, that was my 18th year anniversary,” he said.
That day, he went to Sol Apartments on the southeast side of I-10 & Loop 410 on a possible burglary call. He confronted a driver in a suspicious vehicle. That is when the backseat passenger pulled out a handgun.
“He fired once and hit me in the neck and then continued to keep firing,” Sepulveda said. “I don’t know exactly how many times, but it was multiple times. I tried to get to cover somewhere and that’s when my partner showed up and he exchanged gun fire.”
His partner Officer Edgar Ortiz was less than two years into his first policing job. It was the first time he had heard gun shots on a call.
“I saw my partner was hurt. I went to help him,” Ortiz said. “I was really shocked to see my partner with gunshot wounds.”
He knew had to get Sepulveda to the hospital.
“I do have some EMS experience," said Ortiz. "EMS can only be places so fast and he had seconds. EMS, though no fault of their own are minutes away.”
“That’s somebody you want by your side at all times,” Sepulveda said. “If it wasn’t for him, his quick actions, he didn’t hesitate, he didn’t stop, he didn’t try to call for EMS. He took it upon himself to get me here and I think that’s what really saved my life. If it wasn’t for him, I would not be here. Out of this, he’s the hero.”
Sepulveda said moving out of harm’s way and getting him to the emergency room was no easy task.
“I’m not a small guy,” he said. “So, my partner had difficulty even trying to get me into the Tahoe from the very beginning.”
“I was so blessed to have other people around me to help, people of the community, to help move him in the car,” Ortiz said.
Sepulveda arrived at the emergency room with injuries to his neck, shoulder and elbow. His doctor said the emergency team is used to dealing with serious injuries, but Sepulveda’s case was a bit different.
“In the emergency room, this is what we do,” said Dr. Umar Khan. “It’s not out of the ordinary to see an incident like this. This was a little special for me. Special in the sense it was on another level. Police, fire, EMS, we’re all part of one family.”
Sgt. Sepulveda spent a week in the hospital recovering. He went back for another week after one of his wounds got infected. He said he is feeling great now. In fact, he hopes for one more celebration next month. That is when he plans to return to work, as along as doctors and his chief clear him for duty.
The two suspects in this case, who are brothers, were caught a few days after the shooting.
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