‘I will never forget them.’ Mayor, survivor honor Rangers who helped after uptown shooting
When Roberto Aron received a phone call that his daughter, Tanishka Aron, was one of three victims in the June 11 uptown Columbus shooting, he was away in his home country of Panama laying his brother to rest.
“It felt like a double whammy,” Aron told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I was already dealing with one loss and then I get the call saying my own daughter had been shot in a random act.
“It was a call that I wish no parent has to receive. We still feel the pain of that night.”
The pain is something that Tanishka says she remembers vividly.
“It hurt so bad, like my entire side was on fire,” she said. “I had only been there for two minutes before I felt the bullet hit me. I started screaming and panicking.”
Aron was enjoying a night out around 10:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Broadway on June 11 when a man, identified as Justin Tryan Roberts, began shooting into the crowd, in what Columbus police now believe was a “racially-motivated” crime spree. By the end of the spree on June 12, Roberts shot and injured five people, one in Phenix City and four in Columbus, in less than 24 hours.
“I saw blood but I didn’t know where I was bleeding,” Aron said. “People were recording, panicking, trying to take pictures of me and, then, that’s when those two men came to help me.”
Those two men were Staff Sgt. Jason Palma and Sgt. Michael Abuan. The pair were also out for a night with friends when the shooting started. Aron said the men rendered aid and kept her calm until emergency services arrived.
“It was like they knew exactly what to do,” she said. “They took me to the back of the restaurant for privacy and undressed me so they could find the wound. They explained to me that I had been shot in the stomach and that I would need to calm down because the bullet was still inside me.”
The Arons, alongside Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson, showed their gratitude to the Rangers and Fort Benning in a proclamation ceremony held on post Tuesday afternoon.
During the ceremony, Henderson said that the Rangers were able to assess and seal the wound, rendering life-saving first aid during the incident.
First aid is one of the many skills that Rangers are taught during their time at Fort Benning, Major Dana Gingrich, Battalion Executive Officer for the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“We go through extensive training, both in Ranger regiment and basic training in the broader Army,” Gingrich, who spoke on behalf of Abuan and Palma, said. “We can’t hesitate and we won’t hesitate to use that training, but it’s also a community effort.”
The close relationship between Columbus and Fort Benning has only grown over the years, Henderson said.
“It’s always been a bond there,” he said during the ceremony. “You guys get involved in the community while you are here and, so, when you leave, we want you guys to take a little piece of us with you. We got a chance to witness the training and you guys in action in our own community.”
Henderson, who proclaimed July 20 as Sgt. Michael Abuan and Staff Sgt. Jason Palma Day in Columbus, said that being able to witness the mens’ dedication warranted a significant response from the city. Along with receiving the Mayor’s Service Award, both men received a plaque of gratitude from the Aron family, honoring the men who Tanishka credits with saving her life.
“It feels good to be able to be here and honor them,” she said. “This is my first time seeing them since that night but I will never forget them and what they did for me. Never.”
