Oct 21, 2009 10:34 pm US/Central
Homeless Targeted In Paintball Attacks
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Homeless people were the target of a paintball attack on Lower Wacker Drive.
CBS
When you shoot a paintball gun at someone, it's usually part of a game. But what happened on Lower Wacker Drive was anything but. The culprits were unknown. The targets were some of Chicago's most vulnerable. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman spoke with one of the victims and a man who witnessed it.
For that witness, fear gave way to revulsion when he realized what was happening. At least two people were using homeless men for target practice.
When it all started, the witness, who only wants to be known by his first name, Nicholas, said, "I just didn't know what I was involved in at that point. I was very scared."
Nicholas says they fired across the lanes. His mission was to get out. Then, when he realized they had only paintball guns, he backed up to discover their target: homeless people.
"They were flailing their arms," said Nicholas. "They had just been the victim of what I consider a heinous attack."
It's not a first, although paintballs are a new method, according to the executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Ed Shurna.
"They're out on the street. They're there night and day. They fall victim to crime a lot. They never really report it," Shurna said. "People are just cruel, and I'd say to somebody, 'What the heck is wrong with you that you would just stoop to dehumanize somebody?'"
Tom Droze was one of the homeless in the line of fire.
"Very cruel. Very cruel. We're trying to live our life," Droze said.
His message to the shooters: "Stop that."
When Nicholas last saw the suspects, they were getting onto the Eisenhower Expressway. He says he called 911, and that he'd like the shooters to pay for what they did.
State Police say since it's not among major incident reports filed, it's going to be tough to track.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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