Doctor Weighs In From Chicago Shooting, Says ‘Horrific’ Injuries Akin to ‘Wartime’

A doctor who watched the Highland Park shooting unfold live in Chicago over the weekend described the carnage as “horrific” in an interview with local media. Dr. David Baum said he was about 100 yards from the scene of the injuries in the Windy City suburb, and that he knew it would be bad after people started frantically scattering.

Baum described hearing the “pow, pow” of a “Howitzer-type” weapon.

“You saw blood everywhere. You saw bodies down. You saw people screaming, you saw massive amounts of blood in the people who were gone,” he said. “There were a lot of bodies. Who was expecting to need 15 ambulances on the scene of our Highland Park parade?”

Baum said that he and a few other medical professionals in plainclothes stayed around to help the injured. “I didn’t know what I could do, but I wasn’t going to leave,” he said, noting that a nurse, a surgeon, and an ER doctor all helped him at the scene. “All we could do was hold pressure, apply tourniquets. I started a couple of IVs.”

Baum then described the carnage as the “kind of injuries you probably see in wartime.”

“And these bodies were, they were gone. They covered them up immediately and went on to try to get other people out,” he added. Baum also said that he tried to help a young child who looked “horribly injured.”

The shooting left massive amounts of blood at the scene

Other parade attendees said that they first assumed the gunshots to be a part of the celebration, like fireworks. Few understood the gravity of the situation as it immediately unfolded.

One man, Larry Bloom, said: “You heard like a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ and I think everybody kinda thought maybe it was a display on one of the floats — and then it just opened up.”

Another man who did not give his name said he initially thought the noise was a rifle salute; but once he realized it was an active shooter, he picked up his son and ran into an alley.

“We ran behind the building, and I put my son in the dumpster, and he sat there with his dog,” said the man. “It was just horrible. I went back there were a few people (who were) shot, on the ground,” he added. “There was a little boy that was in one of the police officer’s arms. That was the worst experience ever. Because you know, all I thought about was my son and I can only imagine what that family is going through.”

Six people died in the Highland Park shooting, and dozens of others sustained serious injuries, according to police.