A 16-year-old girl was working at a New Orleans McDonalds when an armed woman robbed the fast food establishment and locked all the employees in a freezer, WDSU-TV reported.
On Monday, Oct. 17, Tenia Hill called 911 on her phone during the active robbery. When a dispatcher was connected, the frightened teenager heard a familiar voice – it was her mother, Teri Clark, who was working the night shift at the Orleans Parish Communication District.
“Mama, help! Please hurry up,” Hill said on a 911 call recording obtained by the news station. “She’s got a gun.”
“We are going to hurry, give me a description,” her mother responded calmly.
Clark is an assistant operations manager with 24 years of experience at the emergency call administration center. Normally, she would’ve been off work at the time her daughter called, but she decided to assist staff with emergency calls.
When her daughter explained the nature of the situation, Clark remained calm and proceeded to do her job.
WDSU News
“I was in a state of shock,” Clark told WDSU.
“What broke me down was when my child said, ‘We’re in the freezer,'” Clark added. “And I said, ‘The freezer?’ While I was taking the call, tears [were] coming down my face, but I am still trying to do my job.”
The New Orleans Police Department responded to the scene and brought all the employees to safety.
“I was really scared because I would never imagine at my first job I would be getting robbed, let alone having a gun pointed at me,” she told WDSU-TV. “I didn’t want my mom to have to bury her youngest child. I could have lost my life, but she saved my life.”
Following the incident, CNN obtained a statement from Tyrell Morris, executive director of the communication district, in which he lauded Clark’s professionalism and dedication.
“Teri Clark is a shining example of what our 911 heroes in New Orleans and across the nation do every day,” Morris said. “We answer each and every call with passion, purpose and professionalism, even when it is our own family.”