‘Training pays off’: Security guard saves choking student with Heimlich maneuver

School security guard saves student

A security guard saved a student from choking by performing the Heimlich maneuver at a high school cafeteria.

Harrowing video captured the moment a school security guard saved a student from choking by performing the Heimlich maneuver.

Robin Cooper, a security guard at Greece Athena High School in Rochester, New York was sitting in the lunchroom as students ate on Feb. 26, surveillance footage showed.

Suddenly, a student is seen standing up, quickly making his way over to Cooper, who appeared to immediately understand that the student was choking and proceeded to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him.

Freeze frame of surveillance video capturing choking student. (Greece Athena High School via Storyful)

Cooper was able to dislodge a piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich that the student had been eating that caused him to choke, according to local news media.

"Have you ever sat through training and wondered why you were there? Training pays off," Steve Chatterton, director of security at Greece Central Schools, wrote in a tweet.

Storyful contributed to this report.