A man who was fatally shot while assisting his sister with a grocery delivery in south suburban Calumet City likely saved her life, she told NBC Chicago.
Steven Cotner, 23, was shot during an attempted robbery around 8 p.m. Thursday night in the 400 block of North Merrill Avenue near Harding Avenue.
Steven and his sister, Allison, were delivering to a local pizzeria when a caller asked for a large pizza. But as they drove over to make the delivery, an ambush occurred.
“… The gun whipped me in the head,” Allison recounted. “…And my brother hears me scream, and he drops the pizza.”
Steven was the only brother in a family of five sisters and was always the protector.
Thursday night was no different.
Steven ran to help and began arguing with one of the gunmen.
“He wanted to protect me. He saw blood coming down my face. I told him, ‘No, Steven. No, it’s not worth it,'” Allison said. “…And that’s when I heard two shots fired.”
Steven was shot in the upper body and died at the hospital.
Two suspects ran and had not yet been arrested as of Friday night.
“He just wanted to protect us, and I wish I could have done the same for him yesterday,” Allison said.
The day after the shooting, the family took the clothes Steven wore on his last delivery.
“I just want justice for him. I want them to be found, the person who did this,” said Steven’s mother, Martina Lohrbach. “I can’t take 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.