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Off duty Border Patrol agents save a child's life after accidental shooting

Taran and Kelsey Santiago thought they'd enjoy a relaxing vacation, and that suddenly changed with the sound of gunfire.

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Two off-duty Border Patrol agents from the Del Rio Sector jumped into action while vacationing in Florida a few weeks ago.

“We were not prepared for that mentally or emotionally, but we were ready to act by whatever means necessary,” said Kelsey Santiago.

Kelsey and her husband Taran were a long way from home where they are stationed as Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, enjoying a vacation with their 9-month-old daughter in Panama City Beach, Florida.

But on the third day of their trip, that calm suddenly changed into a storm.

“We were just sitting down at seafood restaurant.  We also had two other families there with us,” said Taran. “Then, we all heard a loud bang.”

That bang turned out to be a gunshot, followed by loud screams.

“The first thing in my mind was that we had an active shooter,” said Taran.

Taran and Kelsey, both veteran law enforcement officers, passed their toddler off to a family member and ran toward the gunfire.

“When I went in, I started yelling, ‘where’s the shooter? Where’s the shooter?,” said Taran.

The couple were not prepared for what they found, but quickly jumped into action.

“I saw a woman kneeling over a little boy,” said Taran.

The little boy, three-year-old Karson, had accidentally shot himself.  His injuries were critical.

“I started applying pressure, and I started to take care of him because I am an EMT as well,” said Taran.

He said the boy was in a souvenir shop and they used t-shirts to apply pressure to the wound.

After Kelsey got off the phone with a 911 dispatcher, she rushed to her husband’s side, both doing everything they knew to save the little boy.

“His abdomen was completely open, exposing his organs,” said Kelsey.  “I was just reassuring him that he was going to be okay, that we were going to take care of him.”

They said the boy was surprisingly awake the whole time.

“He was a strong kid, I’ll tell you that,” said Taran.

Taran said a woman ran up to them hysterical. He pulled her aside and reassured her that they were doing everything they could to save Karson’s life.

“His grandmother, she actually started to kind of claw at us,” said Taran. “I said just let us do our job. We got this.”

Then EMS arrived at the scene, and that was the last time the Santiagos saw the little boy.

“It felt like an hour, but I would say this was probably a grand total, about four to five minutes,” he added.

Heather Jarmon is that little boy’s grandmother. She said they had traveled from Alabama for a vacation with her daughter and grandkids when the unimaginable happened.

She said she remembers Taran trying to calm and reassure her during the chaotic scene.

“I remember Taran because he came in and showed me his badge and told me that he was medically trained and that he could help me,” said Jarmon.  “I didn’t know at the time who he was.”

Jarmon said her faith told her that Taran being there was a message sent from God.

“I felt like he was put there at the right place, at the right time,” said Jarmon. “He was off duty. He did not have to respond and help us, and he did."

Jarmon said Karson is doing well, and on the road to a full recovery.

She said she was able to track down the Santiagos on social media and reached out to thank them.

“I just knew that I would have a little bit of peace if I could find him and thank him,” said Jarmon. “There's many, many more out there that people need to realize that they risk their lives and that's why they do what they do.”

The Santiagos said their friends on the trip with them are also first responders. They wanted to recognize Nick Riley and Chris Fields, firefighters from Columbia Tennessee who also jumped in to help.

Taran said his training as a Border Patrol agent prepared him to react quickly in a chaotic situation.

“We're trained to go to meet with what we least expect. And that way, when it comes back to something that's not as severe. We are still well equipped to deal with the situation at hand,” said Taran.  “We had to meet our adversity and we improvised with what we had. And we overcame the whole situation.”

It’s a vacation memory that these agents will never forget.

“I handed over our little baby, so we could go help somebody else’s little baby,” said Kelsey.  “And, to know that he’s doing okay and that he’s alive, it just means more to us than we can even describe.”

It's still unclear where the little boy found the firearm.  

KENS 5 reached out to the Panama City Beach Police Department. A detective said they can't release many details of the case, as the investigation is still ongoing.

Authorities did say that charges are pending.

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