An off-duty D.C. firefighter was shot in the Capitol Hill neighborhood on a recent Saturday night. Gary "Zeek" Dziekan was identified as the victim of an attempted robbery while he was on his way home. NBC Washington reported that Dziekan was confronted by a teen armed with a gun and wearing a mask, who demanded Dziekan's phone.
After complying with the request to hand over his phone, the situation escalated when the armed teen pointed the gun at Dziekan's chest. Reflecting on the incident, Dziekan said, "He put the gun up to my chest and was gonna kill me. I grabbed the barrel of the gun and pushed it away, and as I did, he pulled the trigger," according to a FOX 5 DC interview. This quick decision likely saved his life.
The police were able to locate a suspect, a 17-year-old male, on the 400 block of 9th Street Northeast, who was also suffering from a gunshot wound. WUSA 9 confirms both the suspect and Dziekan were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident has led to the arrest of the teenager.
In the moments after being shot, Dziekan experienced a delay in reaching emergency services via 911, prompting him to call his fire station directly for assistance. "I said, ‘It’s Zeek, I’m at 8th and C Northeast, I’ve been shot, I need help.’ They said, ‘We’re on our way,’" Dziekan recounted in an interview with FOX 5 DC. His call for help was swiftly answered by his firehouse family, exemplifying the close-knit nature of first responders.
