Neighbors rushed to help man who was shot in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, later died
A 28-year-old man was found shot Wednesday night in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and later died, despite the valiant efforts of neighbors who tried to help.
Chicago Police said officers responded to a call of a person shot in the 800 block of West Lill Avenue, just west of Halsted Street. The victim was found on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his chest.
He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was treated but later died. He was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office late Thursday as Kevin Patel, who lived on the block.
What transpired and why remained unknown late Thursday, but the shooting that killed Patel appeared to be random. CBS News Chicago late Thursday was also still trying to learn more about who Patel was.
CBS News Chicago spoke to a few neighbors in the area, one of whom heard the gunshot and ran outside to try to put pressure on the victim's gunshot wound.
"Knowing you're kind of with someone in their last moments, trying to give them all the help you can, trying to calm him down, you kind of almost like build a personal relationship in a weird way with a person," said Garrett Moores.
Moores had a message for Patel's family.
"I hope you know your son was not alone in these moments, and you know, this is a really good community of people that were trying to help in any way they could," Moores said, "and you know, we did everything we could to make sure he got into that ambulance safely."
Moores heard the gunshot from his home. Patel was lying in front of his neighbor's house around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday — shot in the chest.
"I went and grabbed towels and tried to get down here as fast as I could," Moores said.
He also called 911, while trying to comfort Patel.
"We were just talking to him, telling him, you know, what the Fire Department was telling us — you know, breathe in slowly, try to take long, deep breaths — and he would kind of look at us, and you could tell he was changing his breathing, so he was responsive, which was encouraging," Moores said.
Hours after the ambulance took off, as police combed through the crime scene for evidence, those same towels Moores brought out sat on the ground alongside shell casing markers.
"I was fortunate to have another woman and neighbor come up and help, and unzip his jacket, and kind of talk to me through it, so we were able to keep him conscious and breathing and all that stuff," said Moores, "and you know, thank God for first responders that got here as quickly as they could."
In the area where the shooting happened, Lill Avenue is a residential street with both historic and new high-end properties. Contemporary construction blends in with red-brick row houses and Victorian workers' cottages from the turn of the last century or earlier.
The adjoining stretch of Halsted Street is home to the Kingston Mines blues club and several popular restaurants, interspersed with residential buildings.
A woman who lives in the neighborhood said she was caught off guard by the shooting.
"I walk up and see this tape, and this is something I've never seen before, and it's scary. I've never seen tape strung across before, so I feel a little odd, but I know it's not the norm," Tessa Shields said.
Witnesses said they saw a man and woman flee the scene on foot, running east.
It was not clear what happened before the shooting.
Officials on Thursday said there will be more of a police presence near the area where Patel was shot and killed. Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) said in a statement:
"This is yet another reminder of the work we have to do as a City to combat violence. I've asked the 19th district to increase patrols in the area, and as we head into the summer, I will continue to push City Hall for the resources our Ward needs."
On Thursday afternoon, a group of officers gathered at the site of the deadly shooting for a special roll call.
Meanwhile, neighbors on Lill Avenue said they are holding their families a little closer.
"My roommate and I were booking flights for a vacation, and then we heard a gunshot from the living room," said one woman from the neighborhood. "It's the closest physically I've ever been to a death, so a little bit of an existential crisis — just a realization of how quickly it can be taken away from you."
The woman was traumatized enough to take part of a day off from work.
"For something so tragic to happen right on the corner over there — a life lost — I took a half day of work," she said, "so coming back to take a mental health day."
As of Thursday afternoon, no arrests had been made.
Belmont Area detectives are investigating.
