LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After Sunday's shooting inside the Fayette Mall, a group of shoppers rushed to 17-year-old Kenneth Bottoms' side, trying to save his life.
April Budd was at the mall with her boyfriend late Sunday afternoon.
"I was with my boyfriend, actually shopping for his little girl's birthday," Budd reflected
A relaxing day off work turned into chaos at the sound of gunshots. April and her boyfriend, along with several other people inside The Children's Place, immediately ran to the back of the store. After a few minutes, the commotion stopped.
"I went to the window and could see that there was a young guy laying on the ground."
April says she saw one woman trying to help the young man, we now know, was 17-year-old Kenneth Bottoms. April, a nurse, says her instincts kicked in and she knew she had to go help the other nurse.
"There was an officer, his name's Ray Wilson, that was holding something on Mr. Bottoms, or Kenneth's, little Kenny's head to try to help slow the bleeding. And then I took over compressions for her to do CPR."
At one point, April says she felt Kenny's pulse.
"There were two other pedestrians that ran and got the AED, the oxygen and concentrator," April reflected. "We were able to finally get that on and at least get him some oxygen and kind of just wait until somebody showed up to help."
Since that night, April has spoken with Kenny's mother, who says she is thankful people were there for her son.
"I have a son, that's the same age, he's 18 years old," she said. "You know, that could have been my boy laying on the ground that day. And I would only hope that people around would help."
