By Kate Bradshaw
Tampa Tribune
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A year after a jilted ex-boyfriend shot and nearly killed her daughter, Diana Dudley wants to show the first responders who came to her aid that night how much their service means to her.
On Sept. 16, 2013, Alyssa Dudley, 22, was in her apartment with two friends when the man with whom she had ended a three-year relationship a few days prior walked in and shot her three times; twice in the head, once in the abdomen. Her friends fled the apartment and called 911 immediately. Police and firefighters were there in about a minute.
“From my understanding, the cops were en route at the time the first shots were fired,” Diana Dudley said.
Fire Station 10, at 28th Street and 30th Avenue North, was only about six blocks away.
“The response time was phenomenal.”
The shooter, Carlos Crompton, 39, fled the scene. Within minutes, he was traced to a relative’s home in south St. Petersburg. Police say he pulled out a .38 revolver as they approached, so they shot and killed him.
Alyssa Dudley, meanwhile, was being treated by first responders.
“She had been hit several times,” St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Captain Walter Eanes said. “We started ALS (advance life support) intervention right away and got her to the hospital, to Bayfront Medical Center, the trauma unit, and we had a great outcome, as you can see.”
Her mother said Alyssa Dudley was on a ventilator for 14 days. Her right side was paralyzed and she couldn’t walk.
She wasn’t able to speak for 25 days, and still has some trouble with speech. She started walking with a cane six weeks after the shooting.
On Monday, she easily walked around a small gathering area in Fire Station 10 with no help. She rarely spoke. When asked about the efforts of first responders, she said, “Priceless.”
She and her mother were at the station to present the firefighters there with a plaque thanking them for their service.
“We want to make sure that you guys are recognized for your efforts,” Diana Dudley said. “Our first responders, our fire rescue, police officers, all of those people do so much to ... save lives, intervene. You see it on the news every day, but you don’t ever see people come back and say thank you. She’s here today because of the intervention. Period.”
She added that the kind of compassion and humanity responders showed that day is rare.
“We don’t get to see that too much anymore,” she said. “The world has gone crazy.”
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©2014 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.)