MIAMI – Héctor Terán was at Lamar Louise Curry Middle School near Miami-Dade County’s Kendall West neighborhood when he saw a student was armed with a gun.
It would have been easier for Héctor to keep quiet, but despite his fear, he decided to report the student. His courage didn’t go unnoticed.
On Tuesday morning, police officers recognized his decision to stand on the side of law enforcement.
“When he showed me the gun, he said, ‘You better not snitch! You better not snitch on me!”
Terán said it was just too dangerous not to report it. The Do The Right Thing awardee had a message for others who face the same dilemma: “If you are nervous, talk to somebody, just talk to somebody, to be sure.”
Terán wasn’t alone on stage. He was one of five students who received the Do the Right Thing award in partnership with the Miami Police Department. The nonprofit organization that runs the program received more than 700 nominations and selected ten finalists.
Alexandra Alguino reported a student had made a hit list at Caribbean K-8 Center in Miami-Dade’s South Miami Heights neighborhood.
“I was very scared,” Alexandra said.
Hialeah Gardens Middle School students Ashley Rodriguez, Alexandrea Perez, and Sophia Brady saw on Snapchat that someone was threatening to “shoot up” another middle school.
“When there is something that’s not safe, I feel like it should be reported, and I don’t think it should be held back because there are people’s lives at stake,” Brady said.
Héctor received special recognition with a trip to a water park in Washington, D.C. The other four students received free Papa John’s pizza, two Miami Marlins tickets, and a mini-tablet, among other gifts, which Hector got as well. For more information about the program, visit this page.