An Uber driver in Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood found himself in the crossfire of an armed robbery early Wednesday morning, resulting in a gunshot wound. Paul Bessette, 38, was waiting for a passenger in the 2200 block of South Wentworth Avenue when he witnessed a group of men attacking an older man just outside his vehicle at around 1:40 a.m., the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
In response, Bessette honked his horn hoping to intervene, Bessette's actions seemed to provoke one of the assailants who turned and fired a shot into his Tesla's window, the bullet passing through the seat belt and lodging in his chest, a close call considering the doctors later told him that slight shifts in his position or the bullet's trajectory might have dramatically altered the outcome, according to Bessette's account. According to CBS News Chicago, Bessette's reflection on the harrowing experience; "It was crazy," Bessette said, "It was like, really kind of like something you never think you'd go through in life."
Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department has issued warnings regarding a pattern of robberies in the Chinatown area, though no arrests related to this specific incident. However, the man Bessette attempted to help was hospitalized with head injuries and is expected to recover; this all while Bessette has been contemplating the randomness of violence and the fragility of life, in his quiet moments after the assault, according to his interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, "I just want to give them a hug," he remarked on seeing his kids, "I just want to feel their love."
Bessette remains steadfast, despite the critique from those close to him for his act of stepping in during the robbery, where attackers made off with $6,000 and an iPhone, Bessette told the Chicago Sun-Times that he doesn't regret trying to help saying "You can’t bring a f- - -ing car horn to a gunfight."
