FOUNTAIN LAKE -- Two Fountain Lake Elementary students were honored by the Garland County Sheriff's Department Friday for their heroic efforts in helping their father after he was shot in the arm during a Dec. 22, 2016, home invasion.
Maximus Love, 8, and his sister, True, 6, of Hot Springs, both received certificates of appreciation for "exemplary response during an emergency" and were commended by Garland County Under Sheriff Jason Lawrence at an assembly of their fellow students at the school.
The Love family was supposed to be out of town Dec. 22, but extenuating circumstances brought Kevin Love and his two children back to the house that night. Once they arrived at their home on Heavenly Place, Kevin Love noticed there were several people inside the house. He told his children to lie down on the floor of his Jeep and not move, while he entered the house.
"I ran in, and being a black belt I thought, run in there and, you know, go all Bruce Lee," Kevin Love said.
Once he saw the gun around the corner of his bedroom door, he said he knew he was not going to be able to engage in hand-to-hand combat. He said he was attempting to jump from the second story of the house to the first when he was shot once through the arm. When he landed, he hit his head on the kitchen table, knocking him unconscious.
"If I hadn't of jumped I would have been shot in the chest; I wouldn't be here," he said.
When Kevin Love regained consciousness, his daughter was administering first aid, applying direct pressure to his wounds, while his son was on the phone with 911. True and Max Love were able to care for their father until help arrived.
"I was scared when I heard the gunshot," said True Love. "When (her father's) eyes started to close, I thought he was dying." Despite facing a seriously traumatic event, the children were able to remain as calm as possible.
"In any type of critical incident you need to remain calm, and they did. These children did something most adults can't do," said Lawrence, who was one of the responders to the scene the night of the shooting.
While Max Love was on the phone with the 911 operator, he was able to explain in detail exactly what happened, where he lived and even gave a description of the burglars and their car.
"It was amazing how well they were able to remain calm and communicate with the 911 operator," said Lt. Russell Severns, the lead investigator on the case.
Prior to the incident, both children had learned what to do in an emergency situation. The school's resource officer, Deputy Justin Butcher, visited every elementary class earlier that year educating students on how to act under such circumstances. He stressed the importance of remaining calm at all times, and clearly communicating with the 911 operator until help arrives. The children were able to do both.
Lawrence commended the work of both Butcher and the parents, stressing how important it is to educate young children on how to respond to emergency situations.
"You put resource officers in schools to not only protect students, but teach them as well. That's exactly what Deputy Butcher did," said Lawrence. "We are very proud of these kids."
Local on 04/03/2017