While seven people died during Monday’s mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill., the death toll might have been worse.
Several doctors happened to be in attendance as several dozen people were shot.
Dr. Loren Schechter, a surgeon from Rush University, administered aid right away as he was with his family when the gunman opened fire.
“I got to safety, and I just said I'm turning around, and we'll go back and do what we can do,” he told CNN’s “New Day.” There were several older people that had fallen, some scrapes and bruises. They were okay; tried to comfort and get them to relax until the ambulance could get here.”
Despite being on the scene right away, Schechter could not save several of the victims.
“There were several people who were obviously deceased,” he said. “There was a gentleman who I believe, I've heard since, has succumbed. He had a gunshot to his abdomen. The EMTs had holding pressure. We started an IV. There was a woman with gunshot to the chest. They were trying to amass a ventilator. She was deceased. Several guys, tourniquets, started IVs and waited for the ambulances to get here.”
Dr. David Baum, a Chicago-area obstetrician, also provided aid. He said several people died instantly.
"Blown up. Blown up,” he told CNN. “The horrific scene of some of the bodies is unspeakable for the average person. I mean, being a physician, I've seen things in ERs and you do see lots of blood, but the bodies were literally, some of the bodies...there was an evisceration injury from the power of this gun and the bullets. There was another person who had an unspeakable head injury, unspeakable, unspeakable."
He went on to say that the injuries appeared to have come from a battlefield.
“I've never served, but those are wartime injuries. Those are what are seen in victims of war, not victims at a parade,” Baum told the network.
