A man who was fatally shot while assisting his sister with a food delivery in south suburban Calumet City likely saved her life, she told NBC Chicago.
Steven Cotner, 23, was shot during a robbery attempt at around 8 p.m. on Thursday evening in the 400 block of North Merrill Avenue near Harding Avenue.
Steven and his sister, Allison, were making deliveries for a local pizzeria when a caller asked for a large pizza. But when they drove over to make the delivery, an ambush occurred.
“…Pistol whipped me in the head,” Allison recounted. “…And my brother hears me screaming, and he drops the pizza.”
Steven was the only brother in a family with five sisters and was always the protector.
Thursday night was no different.
Steven ran to help and began tussling with one of the gunmen.
“He wanted to protect me. He seen blood coming down my face. I was telling him, ‘No, Steven. No, it’s not worth it,'” Allison stated. “…And then that’s when I heard two gunshots go off.”
Steven was shot in the upper body and died at the hospital.
Two suspects ran off and had yet to be apprehended as of Friday night.
“He just wanted to protect us, and I wish I could have did the same to him yesterday,” Allison said.
The day following the shooting, family clutched the clothes Steven wore on his final delivery.
“I just want justice for him. I want them found, the person that did this,” said Steven’s mother, Martina Lohrbach. “I can’t bring my baby back.”
The case is being investigated by the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force. Anyone with information is asked to call the Calumet City Police Department at 708-868-2500.