Heinous and evil. That's how a former Tinley Park paramedic described what he saw inside the Lane Bryant clothing store after a deadly mass shooting nearly 18 years ago.

Retired paramedic Kevin Collinge was speaking publicly for the first time on Tuesday as part of an upcoming documentary on the murders.

The idea is someone knows something and increased attention and interest in the case could lead to answers. It's a strategy that's worked with other crimes, and one that investigators hope could solve what remains one of the area's most infamous unsolved mysteries.

"Five ladies showed up. They had all said their last goodbyes and didn't know it. That's pretty sad," Collinge said.

Collinge was the first paramedic to arrive on scene on Feb. 2, 2008. That's the day a single gunman walked into the clothing store and shot everyone inside, killing five women.

"I arrived at the Lane Bryant in time to have three officers coming out the front door, guns drawn, looking for somebody," he said.

He found six women in the back of the store; a manager, an employee, and four customers. Only one would survive, working with investigators on a sketch of the gunman.

Collige has relived the details of that day countless times over nearly 18 years.

"It is hard to explain the anger that goes through somebody who has compassion for people," he said.

He hopes more retelling of the story will make the difference.

"Boy does this case need awareness. It's faded, it's dormant, and we need more people talking about it," said Charlie Minn, who hopes his new film will finally answer the question of who killed the women and why that person hasn't been caught.

The upcoming documentary, "Who Killed These Women? The Tinley Park 5," is set for release on Feb. 13, marking 18 years since the attack and the start of a case that continues to haunt those closest to it; a case that left so many dead, with still few leads.

"I've seen a lot of things in the 15 years previous to this, but nothing as heinous or as evil as what this was," Collinge said.

Collinge was in the area at the time because he and his partner had been called to an unrelated call across the parking lot.

He still wonders and worries if the sirens from his ambulance might have affected the shooter in some way and changed the course of that day; another question that could only be answered by finding the shooter.