Doctor describes ‘war injuries’ seen in Highland Park, Illinois victims in shooting

A doctor who treated the victims at the site of the fatal shooting in Highland Park, Illinois described their injuries as “war wounds”.

Dr. David Baum, an obstetrician and local resident who attended the parade with his family, told CNN’s “New Day” he ran to help, adding that some of those injured were killed instantly.

“The people who had left were blown up by those gunshots,” Baum said, speaking of the power of the gun used in the shooting.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said the shooter purchased the gun – which police described as a “high-powered rifle” – legally, according to CBS. Robert E. Crimo III, 22, fired into the parade from a nearby rooftop, killing at least six people, including a man in his 60s and a member of the local synagogue, and wounding 26 others.

Baum said the condition of some of the victims’ bodies is “indescribable to the average person.”

“Having been a doctor, I’ve seen stuff in the ER, you know, you see a lot of blood,” Baum told CNN’s John Berman. “But the bodies were literally – some of the bodies – it was an evisceration wound from the power of that gun and the bullets.”

Baum added that the wounds he saw on those killed were reminiscent of the war.

“And the wounds…that I’ve seen – I’ve never served – but these are war wounds,” Baum said. “That’s what you see in war victims, not parade victims.”

A 2017 HuffPost investigation included testimony from trauma surgeons about the effects of gunshot wounds on people’s bodies.

It wasn’t the only filming to take place during the July 4 holiday. Two police officers were reportedly shot during an Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia, but both were released from hospital at the end of the day.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan gun safety bill that includes enhanced background checks for under-21s and additional mental health funding.

“But there’s still a lot of work to do, and I’m not going to give up on the fight against the epidemic of gun violence,” Biden said in a statement Monday.