ALLEN, Texas — Wednesday on the House floor, Democratic Congressman Colin Allred honored Gicela Aleman, a North Texas mother who helped save a woman who was shot May 6 at the Allen Premium Outlets shooting.
"Maybe I still haven't processed it yet," Aleman told WFAA.
Aleman says she got to the outlets right when the shooting stopped but before first responders arrived.
She saw a woman on the ground, shot in the back.
"Later I found out it was intern(al) bleeding," she said.
Aleman says she gave the woman water when a police officer asked if she'd be able to take the victim to the hospital, since the scene wasn't secure for first responders to come in.
"I said, 'yeah sure!'"
Aleman said the woman did not say much, but breathed heavily.
"I told her don't worry it's going to be okay, take it easy, we're almost there."
When she left the woman, Aleman said she couldn't stop thinking about her.
"When I got home and started watching the news, I was looking for her. Like when they give you the age and gender [of victims,] I was looking for a lady with the same age and characteristics. I was like oh my God, how's she doing? I was so worried."
One week later, Aleman got her answer when she visited the woman, named Preeti, at the hospital.
Preeti, Aleman said, lives in India and is a grandmother.
She thanked Gicela for saving her life.
"You can make a bond with someone that you had no idea existed, and they have no idea you exist. But life puts you together in a situation and you make a bond with them," Gicela told WFAA.
Aleman said she did what anyone would do; she doesn't consider herself a hero. But she wants you to know how kind people were to each other the day of the shooting.
"I saw people running to help. I saw…I really think people care. I think humanity…is a thing, we still care for each other. We still have care for each other."