Resident Gina Rowland honored after aiding wounded trooper at Bluegrass Airport

The Montgomery County Fiscal Court honored Gina Rowland on a county recognition for her role helping a state trooper who was shot at the entrance of Bluegrass Airport on July 13, 2025.

The court read a statement describing how Trooper Jude Vermillion, a three‑year veteran of the Kentucky State Police, was shot at the airport and how Rowland, among the first on the scene, provided immediate assistance before emergency medical services arrived. The statement said her “timely intervention” contributed to the trooper’s recovery and presented Rowland with a county coin.

Rowland told the court she had been preparing to board a flight when she and others saw the trooper wounded. She said bystanders—including the driver of a stolen pickup who removed his belt and fashioned a tourniquet—worked together to apply pressure, shade the trooper from the sun and keep him conscious until EMS arrived. “If it was not for him, a trooper would be dead,” Rowland said, referring to the truck driver who aided the trooper. She asked that those other rescuers receive recognition as well.

Jan(uary) Wiggs of the National Weather Service, who had been invited earlier in the meeting for a separate recognition, was present during the presentation. The court publicly thanked Rowland and members of the public who assisted at the scene.

The court’s recognition was a ceremonial acknowledgement and did not include any formal changes to county policy. The chair closed the item and moved on to the court’s regular business.