Chicago Fire Department paramedics mistakenly identified a shooting victim on Monday morning as dead when he was actually alive. (Chicago Police Department, Facebook)
A Chicago teenager who was shot on Monday morning reportedly had a white sheet placed over him by paramedics who mistakenly thought he was dead.
After about 20 minutes, they realized he was still alive and transported him to the hospital, reports said.
The 17-year-old, who was shot several times in the head, was thought to be the second victim in a shooting that also left five injured at a University Village neighborhood, according to ABC 7.
The station reported that the sheet covered the teenager for at least 15 minutes before witnesses on the scene informed officers that the boy was still alive, prompting Chicago Fire Department paramedics to perform CPR.
“They saw motion, movement underneath the sheet. Officers who were present notified paramedics, this man is still alive," a Chicago police official told the station, while noting that the “prognosis is not good.”
He said paramedics thought the teenager was dead, and covered him with a sheet before moving on to another shooting victim.
The boy was rushed to a nearby hospital where he remains in very critical condition, the station reported.
The fire commissioner told the station that they’re “trying to piece everything together” to determine how the teenager could have been mistaken for dead.
Authorities suspect Monday’s shooting to be gang-related, and that the victims who survived their injuries are refusing to cooperate with the investigation, according to the station.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
