HOUSTON — A man was given a prestigious award for acting as a good Samaritan during a 2023 shooting on a Houston freeway.
John Phillip Lally, Jr. was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism after helping pull an injured police officer to safety.
Lally was in his box truck on the Southwest Freeway on Nov. 11, 2023, when a man driving a stolen car crashed near him, police say.
The man started shooting at pursuing police officers. Officer Jonathan Gibson, 29, was shot in the leg while approaching the stolen car.
Lally saw Gibson fall, and with another police officer, pulled Gibson to cover behind his truck. They ended up moving the injured officer 40 feet to safety.
The suspect was injured in the shooting. He was taken to the hospital where he died.
Mayor John Whitmire awarded Lally the medal at a ceremony at city hall Tuesday afternoon.