ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 911 caller said she was panicked about a friend being shot but stayed as calm as possible before a New Mexico dispatcher told her to “deal with it yourself” and hung up as she sought aid.

Seventeen-year-old Esperanza Quintero told The Associated Press Wednesday that she wished dispatcher Matthew Sanchez had done more to help after her friend Jaydon Chavez-Silver was shot in June while watching friends play cards inside a home. He later died.

In the recording, Quintero snaps at Sanchez for repeatedly asking whether the 17-year-old Chavez-Silver is breathing.

“It was upsetting at the time but I didn’t have a choice,” Quintero said. “What more could I have done?”

The exchange illustrates the stress that comes with life-and-death 911 calls and how they can be mishandled.

“Somebody with no experience at all, it’s almost understandable,” said Brett Patterson of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. “But if you’re trained and certified, it’s not forgivable. That should never happen.”

Officials said Sanchez was employed by the Albuquerque Fire Department for 10 years and was a firefighter before being assigned to a dispatcher job. It was unclear why the change was made.

He resigned Tuesday after the recording was made public.

Efforts to reach Sanchez were unsuccessful. A message left with Local 224 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the union representing Albuquerque firefighters, was not immediately returned.

Dr. Jeff Clawson, medical and research director of the academies, said records show Sanchez became certified as a dispatcher in February 2012 and was re-certified two years later.

“He had relatively high scores on the exam. There were no other notes negative or otherwise in the file,” Clawson said. He added that Albuquerque has a top-notch reputation within the emergency dispatch community.

Most training makes emergency dispatchers aware that being on the receiving end of comments by an angry caller is a common occurrence. The key is not to take it personally, Patterson said.