HOUSTON — In Houston, there are shootings every day. Dr. Mario Vera is a trauma surgeon with Baylor College of Medicine and Ben Taub Hospital, so he has seen his fair share of gunshot victims.
“Probably, on average, I’d say we get two, three, sometimes four or five gunshot wounds a day,” Vera said.
He said all gunshots wounds can be life-threatening, but being shot with an AR-15 style rifle is even more dangerous than a handgun because bullets fly faster with that type of weapon.
“When the velocity of the bullet is much, much faster, it causes a lot more tissue damage,” Vera said.
Authorities said three Precinct 4 deputies were shot by an AR-15 assault rifle early Saturday morning. Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said the officers were "ambushed." One officer was killed, one was shot in the back and the third was shot in the foot.
Vera isn’t treating the deputies, but he’s very familiar with those types of injuries.
“The majority of gunshot wounds are actually not to the torso. Not to the chest and abdomen. They’re to the extremities. Especially with these high-velocity weapons, it’s easy to bleed out because of the tissue damage,” he said.
Vera said it's unfortunate, but these days, it is important people know basic steps to stop bleeding in the event of a shooting. He recommends members of the public take a STOP THE BLEED course.