Heroic Florida deputies speak after saving 5-year-old who accidentally shot herself

DELTONA, Fla. - On Saturday, a 5-year-old girl found a gun under a bed in a Deltona home and accidentally shot herself in the leg. 

Four Volusia County deputies rushed out to the home to try and save the young girl. 

The deputies worked quickly and with compassion as they used a tourniquet to stop her from bleeding out all while working to calm her down. 

"She was saying the things that kids say, like I have an 'owie' and things like that. I was just like trying to keep her focused on me and not looking at it," Deputy Nicholas Maletto said.

The girl was rushed to the hospital where doctors said if it weren't for the quick actions of the deputies, she may not be here today. 

"In the moment, all the adrenaline is pumping, and you don't have the chance to really feel it,"Deputy Tiffany Kagle said. "It's a good feeling knowing that she's going to live and hopefully keep her leg."

Deputy Kagle said that the girl was amazingly in good spirits at the hospital. 

"She was talking with everyone and then when she went to get X-rays, she waved at us," Deputy Kagle said. "It makes you feel very emotional that, you know, even with going through such a traumatic incident, she could be as happy as she was."

Another deputy also on the scene that day is a father himself and held his son a little tighter when he got home that day. 

"I immediately went home and hugged him because I have guns at home and, you know, it puts you in that scenario," Deputy Valente Estrada said. "But that was the end goal was to save her life. And, you know, by the grace of God, she survived. So that was that. That's the best feeling we can get."

Deputy Boris Rodriguez added that this incident should serve as a reminder to parents to lock their guns. 

"Luckily, we were able to respond fast enough and have that care. Unfortunately, not all situations are the same. And we can't always control everything that we go to. So really just pushing on the parents. We're all about responsible gun owners, but make sure it's secure and out of the way of juveniles," Deputy Rodriguez said.

All the deputies involved will be getting rewards for their heroic actions.