Zoe Kolpack was standing together with her household Monday morning alongside the Highland Park parade route when she heard the primary gunshot.
Then, a bullet shattered the 28-year-old girl’s femur.
As she fell to the bottom, her father tried to defend her together with his physique. He was struck, too. Amid the chaos, her husband and her brother-in-law have been additionally hit by bullets. Her two younger youngsters and mom have been additionally close by.
As folks ran screaming across the household Monday morning through the Fourth of July parade, the Kolpacks’ youngsters have been rushed to security by their grandmothers. Kolpack remained on the bottom till an ambulance arrived.
The household’s harrowing story was recounted by household buddy Samantha Whitehead, 28, in an interview with USA TODAY as she sat beside Zoe Kolpack in her hospital room . Whitehead, who lives in California, stated she flew to Illinois instantly after studying that her shut buddy and her household have been among the many dozens of folks injured in Monday’s lethal mass capturing.
“It was horrible,” Whitehead informed USA TODAY. “Horrific.”
Whitehead is the organizer of a GoFundMe marketing campaign which has raised over $250,000 for the household and their medical payments. A spokesperson for the Chicago Trainer’s Union declined to remark and directed media inquiries to Whitehead.
The kids, ages 1 and a pair of, have been unhurt, and as of Wednesday all 4 wounded members of the family have been recovering after surgical procedure.
Whitehead stated Kolpack, a preschool trainer at William Dever Elementary Faculty in Chicago, was excited to deliver her younger son and daughter to the parade — which she’d attended as a toddler — for the primary time.
“She’s been so excited to begin this custom with her new household,” she stated. “It is one thing that they may by no means do once more.”
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When the gunshots started, Kolpack initially thought it was a part of the parade, Whitehead stated. However as extra pictures have been have been fired, “she knew that there was one thing mistaken.”
Kolpack and her father, Mike Joyce, have been each shot within the leg.
“She simply stated it was probably the most painful expertise she’s ever had in her life,” Whitehead stated. “He was making an attempt to guard her. … I assume he is a hero.”
Kolpack’s husband, Stephen, and brother-in-law Nick Kolpack have been additionally shot whereas the remainder of the household hid within the boiler room of a close by medical constructing with one other group.
Whitehead stated she’s been inundated with messages and donations after launching the fundraiser, which was shared on Twitter by the Chicago Academics Union.
Officers from Chicago Public Faculties informed USA TODAY they’ve been involved with Kolpack, who has been an worker since 2017.
“We’re pondering of our William Dever Elementary colleague and her household, in addition to all these impacted by this tragedy,” the district’s assertion stated.
Whitehead stated she and Kolpack, who grew up in Highland Park, have been greatest buddies because the sixth grade. She stated she fondly remembers spending time collectively in downtown Highland Park and lighting bonfires in Kolpack’s yard.
“Her household, they have been like my household,” Whitehead stated.
The capturing has left the household in shock. All 4 injured members of the family are doing effectively, however have a “lengthy restoration forward” together with rehabilitation and bodily remedy, stated Whitehead.
“All of the assist could be very crucial,” she stated. “We really feel grateful for them to simply actually be alive and for her infants to be secure and effectively.”
Contact Breaking Information Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or observe her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
