JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Nearly three weeks after a police-involved shooting left an officer injured and teenager dead, a Mayport-based sailor who witnessed the shootout talked to Channel about exactly what he saw that night.

On Jan. 26, Officer Jared Reston was trying to catch up with a shoplifting suspect when the suspect turned and opened fire on him. Several shots hit Reston's bulletproof vest, but the officer was struck in the face and leg.

The 18-year-old suspect, Joel Abner, emptied his gun before Reston was able to return fire.

That's when Petty Officer Juan Gallegos came to the wounded officer's aid.

Although he's no stranger to gunfire and guns are big part of his life, Gallegos said nothing could have prepared him for what he saw the night of the shooting.

"It was scary. The cop had his Taser but it didn't deploy, and he just started getting shot. He fell on the ground," Gallegos said.

He said before the shootout unfolded he saw Reston chasing after Abner, who was accused of shoplifting at the Regency Square Mall.

Gallegos, whose job is to protect the USS Farragut, said he thought he could help.

"I got out of my car, preparing for a physical confrontation to try to help him out and the suspect turned around and actually pulled out a .45-glock and started shooting," Gallegos said. "Here I am completely helpless, trying to do something I teach people to do, and I don't even have a gun to do that. I had the mindset of a physical confrontation and when the guns came out, it was just like there's nothing I could do."

The violent shootout he witnessed on Atlantic Boulevard is a scenario for which Gallegos was trained for fighting overseas not on the streets of Jacksonville.

Before it was all over, 26 shots had been fired. Six of those shots struck Reston as Abner stood over the injured officer and unloaded his glock, police said.

Abner died at the scene after being shot by the officer seven times.

When the gunfire ceased, Gallegos called 911.

The humble sailor told Channel 4 what he did wasn't anything heroic.

"You're in the Navy 24-7, so you have the responsibility to do the right thing all the time, not just when I'm here on the ship," Gallegos explained.

Reston has been released from the hospital, and continues to recover from his injuries at home.