DETROIT – Detroit police officers and firefighters were rewarded Tuesday for their actions in saving an infant boy who was shot in the head last month in a drive-by shooting on Detroit's east side.
Bullet holes still cover the home where Simear Lamb was grazed by a bullet in the shooting.
"Physically, we're doing good," Simear's mother, Lakita Lamb, said. "Emotionally, it's still a lot to go through."
Lamb said she doesn't like to think about the shooting. Nine people were inside the home when a man and a woman opened fire, one using an AK-47 type of gun.
Lamb was hit in the thigh as she held her baby boy. Simear was only 6 days old when the bullet grazed his head, and he spent three days in the ICU.
"The worst three days of my life," Lamb said.
Lamb said while she doesn't like to think about the shooting, she does like to think about the firefighters, paramedics and officers who helped save Simear's life.
The officials were awarded Monday morning.
Detroit's engine 58 was first to arrive at the shooting scene, and even though its policy is to wait until police officers say it's safe to go in, firefighters broke that policy when they heard a baby was shot.
"It was a decision that was made together," Detroit fire Chief. Eric Fett said. "It was even a decision to be made."
The ambulance was still a few minutes away, but instead of waiting, Officer Bilal grabbed Simear, jumped in a squad car and sped off to St. John Hospital.
The hospital staff said breaking the rules in this case was a good thing, because Simear could have lost too much blood in a few more minutes.
"That would have been a lot more blood he would have lost if they would have sat around and waited," Detroit fire Commissioner Eric Jones said.
Simear still has some bleeding and swelling on his brain, but doctors expect him to be just fine.
The man and woman behind the drive-by shooting have been arrested.