Man left paralyzed after being shot during robbery in broad daylight on Chicago’s South Side

By Faith Egbuonu

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    Charlie De Mar (WBBM) — A South Chicago neighborhood man had just dropped off his kids at school and was about to grab a coffee—only to be shot in an attempted robbery.

The man, Phillip Radford, survived—but he is paralyzed from the shooting, now having no use of his legs. And this all happened when he was simply going through his everyday morning routine that he’d maintained for years.

His life now forever changed, Radford is slowly learning to adjust.

“I thought I was going to die, because I was bleeding out a lot,” he said.

Radford said he is now paralyzed after he was shot in the spine about two weeks ago. He spoke to CBS News Chicago from the hospital.

“I was literally just going to go get a coffee, trying to cross the street, and he started shooting at me,” he said. “Once the bullet hit me, it completely did something to my body.”

Radford had just dropped off his twins at school, and then just before 9 a.m., he grabbed a coffee near 91st Street and Exchange Avenue. The 32-year-old said he believes the shooter, who looked young, was trying to rob him and then suddenly began shooting.

“Look what you did. You damaged me forever,” said Radford. “I’ve got to be strong for my kids, so there’s a lot that’s going through my head right now.”

Margaret Kessler is Radford’s longtime fiancée.

“When he said he was by the kids’ school, I thought, you know, maybe my kid, you know?” Kessler said.

Kessler started an online fundraiser to try to help with hospital bills and a future of unknown expenses.

“He didn’t even have his wallet on him at the time,” Kessler said. “I just feel so alone now.”

Kessler said detectives believe they know who is responsible for the shooting, but it is a matter of finding him. As of Thursday night, no arrests had been made.

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