As Chicago saw dozens of people injured in shootings on yet another weekend, crisis responders took action to help console victims and their families, but also make an impact in hope of curbing violence. NBC 5’s Sandra Torres reports.
As Chicago saw dozens of people injured in shootings on yet another weekend, crisis responders took action to help console victims and their families, but also make an impact in hope of curbing violence.
A total of nine people had been killed and at least 34 injured in shootings across Chicago as of Sunday afternoon.
Pastor Donovan Price is one of several crisis responders across the city who shows up at hospitals or crime scenes after incidents of violence.
"It’s constant," Price said. "If I’m not at a scene, I'm preparing for a scene, recovering from a scene.
This weekend was no different.
At around 1 a.m. on Saturday, seven people were shot, one fatally, in a mass shooting near Iowa Street and Cicero Avenue in the city's Austin neighborhood. Price showed up at Stroger Hospital, where emergency crews rushed some of the victims.
"There was a lady who was going, giving a hard time to police last night, she was injured when she was running from the shooting… I had a conversation, told her make sure you put it ice, rest... and she was kind of upset but then that calms people down," he said.
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Price said he wasn't the only one at the hospital providing such support, adding that local organizations have stepped up their efforts as well.
"I just noticed there were a few at Stroger last night... the Institute for Non-Violence and BUILD were there," he told NBC Chicago.
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Crisis responder Andrew Holmes has noticed a difference as well.
"You have more and more people coming together trying to help, you have neighborhoods that are trying to help," Holmes said.
While they know their work won't stop the violence altogether, both crisis responders don't want to give up and will continue to try and make a difference.
"...The more the people to step up the more solutions the more people see there’s somebody to help them , somebody who cares," Price said.
After Sunday's mass shooting in Austin, five victims were brought to Stroger Hospital, some in critical condition. Price said they are lucky to survive, but explained that he's also concerned about the trauma they've experienced and that the summer in Chicago is just beginning.
