A Gold Coast woman is being praised for her heroic efforts to try to save the life of her neighbour who died of a gunshot wound this week.
Sharon Burgess-Close did not hesitate when she ran into Mallorie Roberts’ home on Sunday evening, and started CPR when she found the 23-year-old woman.
Ms Roberts had life-threatening gunshot wounds at her home on Loder St, Biggera Waters shortly before 8pm on Sunday.
She died at the scene.
Her partner Ethan Midgley, 23, was arrested without incident and charged with one count of murder (domestic violence) and unlawful possession of weapons used to commit indictable offence (domestic violence).
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Ms Burgess-Close alleged she heard a commotion coming from the home and a person who sounded distraught yelling: “Oh my god, someone help me.”
“Something bad’s happened here,” she said she thought and ran downstairs to see what help they needed.
“The guy said, ‘I need an ambulance’,” Ms Burgess-Close told NewsWire in an exclusive interview.
“I said, ‘Tell me what’s happened’ and I rang triple-0, as I was explaining to her I went into the apartment, he had gone back into the apartment and I just saw her lying there so I commenced CPR.”
Ms Burgess-Close said she was too scared to do anything except CPR.
“I just froze on the spot and just listened to the operator and didn’t listen to anything else, and carried on with CPR,” she said.
She was helped by two other neighbours, including a young woman who put pressure on Ms Roberts’ wound and a woman in her 80s.
Ms Burgess Close said she didn’t think she was brave or acted heroically and thought it was the kind of thing everybody would do to help in that situation.
“According to detectives, they don’t,” she said.
“I kind of think if it was my child lying there, I’d want to know that there was somebody there that was helping them.
“I didn’t know what stage she was at, I couldn’t feel a pulse, but I just thought, well, I’ve got to do this because she could start breathing suddenly.”
Ms Burgess-Close said she wants people to know Ms Roberts was a person, she had a child, she had a family, and she had a network of friends and neighbours.
“In essence, I suppose it could happen to anyone,” she said.
The heroic neighbour has been praised by her community, thanking her for stepping in and acknowledging her “amazing act of bravery and kindness”.