A man in Chicago shone a bright light on the city’s problems with gun violence when he apparently filmed the moment he was shot while live-streaming a video to Facebook on Thursday afternoon. Chicago police are investigating whether the video that shows an attacker opening fire in broad daylight is authentic. The description of the video does appear to match one of the 10 shootings that took place across Chicago on Thursday and killed at least three people while injuring seven others, including a 16-year-old boy.
The man in the video, who is reportedly 31, was live-streaming a video directly to Facebook outside a West Englewood convenience store. The man speaks directly into the camera and jokes about going “somewhere to duck and hide for cover.” Shortly afterward, shots are heard and, while on the ground, the man’s phone appears to capture the gunman firing several more shots.
(Warning: The video below is very graphic and contains strong language.)
The victim has not been identified, but local news outlets say that police immediately described the man, who is reportedly in critical condition, as a known gang member.
This is the description of one of the shootings that took place on Thursday, as reported by the Chicago Tribune:
At 4:48 p.m. a 31-year-old man was shot in the 5500 block of South Hoyne Avenue in the West Englewood neighborhood, police said. He was shot multiple times when a person on foot came up to him and fired. The offender then fled in a vehicle.
This shooting provided a stark reminder of just how much gun violence there is in Chicago on a daily basis. And how much worse things have gotten in recent months. As of Wednesday morning, at least 727 people had been shot in Chicago this year, marking a whopping 73 percent increase from the same period last year. The number of homicides soared 71 percent to 79 killings, according to the Chicago Tribune.
