Pacifica teen honored for rescuing kids from homicidal dad

Rather than calling 911 from the comfort of his home, his first reaction, along with his mother Nirelle Collins, was to run outside, where they were both faced with a scene from a nightmare. Gillenwater stood in the front yard, covered in blood, with the body of Mongiovi’s boyfriend. Higgins knew the couple had a fraught relationship, especially given Gillenwater’s past, and had even talked with his mother the day before about Gillenwater’s recent restraining order and prior threats that he was going to kill the family.

“He was always nice to us, but I knew that he was also crazy, and she was divorcing him, because he was abusive,” Higgins said.

But as soon as Higgins stepped outside that morning, what concerned him most in that moment was neither the knife nearby, nor the lifeless body that Gillenwater was standing by, and not even his stare that seemed to “look right through me,” as Higgins put it. It was the fact that Gillenwater’s 10-year-old daughter stood right near her father, unharmed, but smeared in blood. In a split-second decision, Higgins ran directly in Gillenwater’s direction, grabbing the girl and bringing her safely to his home.

“As I was running across, I just thought I was going to die because there was blood all over the front yard, there was a dead guy there and his daughter is just screaming,” he said.

Collins retrieved the 3-year-old daughter soon after, while Gillenwater left the property and shot himself several hours after the incident when police located him in Ukiah.

The graphic and disturbing scene still haunts Higgins and is something he thinks about daily. And while Mongiovi ultimately survived her wounds, witnessing the horrific injuries inflicted upon her is not easily, if ever, forgotten.

“I do still think about it every day,” he said. “Certain things, like when I hear screaming from a distance and I don’t know where it is, it kind of puts me on edge.”

The act ultimately got Higgins nominated for an award from the state’s Emergency Medical Services Authority. Ken Paglia, spokesperson for EMSA, said the honor, which Higgins received earlier this month, is meant to recognize individuals who demonstrate heroism in the face of a dangerous situation. While EMSA bestows annual awards to first responders, Brodie received only one of the two civilian awards the agency gives out each year.

“The purpose of the award is to recognize someone who, even though in this case he wasn’t an emergency services professional, he exhibited that same sort of presence of mind and willingness to run toward danger instead of away from it,” Paglia said. “That’s why we recognized him.”

While Higgins is appreciative of the honor, he said the circumstances leading to it still reverberate.

“The award is cool, and I’m glad I got it,” he said. “But, at the same time, some of it feels weird getting an award, because it was such a horrible day for other people.”