Two University of Lincoln-Nebraska students were on their way home from a trip to Sam's Club when they witnessed a domestic assault occurring in front of their eyes and made a choice to help someone in desperate need.Ìý
On Feb. 26, at aboutÌý12:30 p.m.,Ìý´Ç´Ú´Ú¾±³¦±ð°ù²õ were sent to an area near 84th Street and Sandalwood Drive on a report of a domestic disturbance. Michelle Gonzalez, 21, who had filed a protection order earlier in the day, had just been hit by a car driven by 28-year-old Ibrahim Alhamadani.Ìý
Kara Viesca, a professor at UNL's College of Education and Human Sciences, recalls the events described to her by her student, whom she's known for three years and who wanted to remain anonymous. The student saw the incident between Gonzalez and Alhamdani firsthand and decided to help.Ìý
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"It's really incredible bravery, and I think they're starting to recognize that," Viesca said.Ìý
The student told Viesca both women witnessed Gonzalez jump out of a vehicle driven by Alhamadani and saw him hit her with the car. Both students agreed to pull over and help Gonzalez.
"And so they were pulling over, he hit her again," Viesca said. "They started writing down his license plate number, and (one of the students) jumped on the phone to call 911, and he did drive away. And so my student got out of the car and walked over to Michelle."
The student asked Gonzalez if she needed help, to which she replied yes. The student quickly got Gonzalez into her SUV. As they were all getting into the car, they could hear Alhamadani coming back.Ìý
"My student's instinct was just to try to outrun him and get away. But we know that didn't happen," Viesca said.Ìý
According to the Lincoln Police Department, the two students and GonzalezÌýdrove east into a neighborhood.ÌýAlhamadaniÌýthen followed them before crashing into the SUV, causing the vehicle to come to a stop in a yard in the 800 block of Indian Hills Drive.Ìý
Alhamadani approached the car and shot Gonzalez multiple times in the head and chest, police said. Then he shot himself.Ìý
"After he shot Michelle and shot himself, (the student's) instinct was to run away, but she looked, and Michelle was in the back seat, and she realized that Michelle was still alive, so she reached back and found the head wound and put pressure on it, and was talking to Michelle to keep her awake," Viesca said.Ìý
The student told Gonzalez that Alhamadani couldn't hurt her anymore. Eventually, people from the neighborhood began coming to their aid, helping with other wounds Gonzalez had sustained as they waited for paramedics to arrive.Ìý
Gonzalez was taken to a local hospital, where she died later that day from her injuries.Ìý
After the shooting, the student has been in constant communication with Gonzalez's family, said Viesca, who believes it has been a healing experience for both the students and the family.Ìý
The student is focused on helping the family after the death of their daughter by trying to share aÌý.Ìý
Viesca is really proud of her student for her bravery. "She's a real hero," she said.Ìý
But she also said she has stressed the importance of the student focusing on herself. After the shooting, the woman has been experiencing night terrors and having difficulty sleeping. Both students are in therapy after the incident.Ìý
Viesca organized a separateÌýÌýdedicated to helping the student whose car was totaled after Alhamadani rammed it and who now has no form of transportation.Ìý
"But I think her healing is so tied up with (the Gonzalez family) that it makes a lot of sense for her to be as supportive with them and in relationship with them, and all the ways that feel right for her," Viesca said.Ìý
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