Anyone of any age can be a hero, including an 11-year-old Oklahoma boy who saved two lives in one day this month.
Muskogee sixth-grader Devin Johnson started his day by helping a student choke on a bottle cap — using techniques he found online.
Later that day, Johnson helped a woman escape from a burning home, according to the Muskogee Phoenix.
In recognition of his work, the Muskogee Police Department, Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office and Muskogee Public Schools honored Johnson at a school board meeting, naming him an honorary member of the police and sheriff’s departments.
“I’m feeling good, excited,” Johnson said, according to the Muskogee Phoenix .
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Principal Letricia Dawkins called Johnson “two heroes.”
“He always indicated that he wanted to be an EMT. So he had to fulfill that desire and immediately save this young man,” Dawson said, discussing the first incident.
Dawson believes Johnson deserves every award.
“He was a kind soul and was well-liked by his colleagues and staff,” he said.
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Dawkins said that during school, in the 6th and 7th grade academy, a student was trying to loosen a water bottle cap from his mouth, and the cap got stuck in his throat. The student went into a classroom where Johnson was.
“Davin immediately ran over and performed the Heimlich maneuver,” Dawkins said. “According to witnesses, when he did that, the bottle cap came off.”
A sixth-grader in Oklahoma has been awarded a hero’s award for jumping into action to save a classmate who was choking and rescuing a woman from a house fire one day. https://t.co/vUPjXN7vh9
—CNN (@CNN) December 22, 2021
“He’s kind of overwhelmed,” said Johnson, who is talking about the choking student, adding that he learned the Heimlich maneuver by watching YouTube videos.
But Johnson’s bravery did not work. Later that day, he encounters a woman who ran from a burning house.
“It was a disabled woman, and she was walking out of her house,” Johnson explained. “He’s on the porch. But I thought, as a good citizen, I’d help him.
“I thought, ‘Oh, he’s not moving fast enough.’ So I ran across the street and helped him out of his truck,” he explains, according to KOTV-TV.
LaToya Johnson shared how she feels about her son’s accomplishments at the Muskogee Phoenix.
“I’m just a proud mom,” she said.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
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