After spotting blood, Garrett Moores grabbed the first thing he could find — towels — and began doing what he could to help a man lying on a sidewalk shot in the chest Wednesday night in Lincoln Park.
His adrenaline racing, Moores, 29, said he and several other shocked neighbors tried to assist the man, who eventually died.
“I opened his jacket and he had a massive wound on the non-heart side of his chest,” Moores said. “I wasn’t really thinking, [I tried] to jump into action as fast as I could.”
Kevin Patel, 28, was shot about 9:20 p.m. just outside his home in the 800 block of West Lill Avenue, officials said.
By cellphone, the fire department talked Moores through the slow, deep breathing patterns Patel needed to follow, and Moores relayed the message to Patel.
“He was changing his breathing when I’d tell him,” Moores recalled. “He was blinking and looking at me and I was trying to get his breath under control … I was telling him it was gonna be OK.”
After the man was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Moores constantly refreshed X before learning Patel didn’t make it.
“Knowing you’re kind of with someone in their last moments, trying to give them all the hope you can, trying to calm them down, you kind of almost build a personal relationship with that person in a weird way,” Moores said.
Moores, who typically walks his dog during the time of the shooting, said he moved to Lincoln Park from River North two years ago to get away from the increasing violence.
Another good Samaritan was a 24-year-old woman who ran outside to help after hearing the gunshot.
“It’ll be hard to feel safe in our neighborhood again until these people are found and justice is found for this family,” said the woman, who applied pressure to Patel’s wound. “It’s a really horrible situation.”
A 56-year-old woman said she two men running east toward Halsted after Patel was shot.
An alert sent out to Lincoln Park residents Thursday morning by 43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen stated there was no known connection between Patel and the shooters.
“This is yet another reminder of the work we have to do as a City to combat violence,” Knudsen wrote. “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.”