BRANDON -- A seventh grader at Mulrennan Middle School is alive and well after nearly choking on a Taki at a lunch last Friday.
According to a release from the Hillsborough School District, the school custodian, Mohammed Hammad, performed the Heimlich maneuver on Xzavier Wilson. After three tries, he got the chip dislodged from Xzavier's throat.
Hammad, known on campus as "Mr. Moe," says he saw the boy slam down his phone and run to a garbage can. He followed and asked Xzavier if he could speak, and the teen said no. Seeing the teen start to panic, Hammad went to work.
"Mr. Moe is my hero," Wilson said, "he saved my life."
Just a few months ago, Hammad saved another student who choked on a chip. He says he doesn't consider himself a hero, and that he was just happy to be there.
Photo: Hillsborough School District