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Bobby Kraft Fatally Shot In Uptown Was A 'Kind Soul' With A 'Big Smile'

By Josh McGhee | August 29, 2016 10:03am | Updated on August 30, 2016 6:24am
 Around 6:15 p.m. Friday, Kraft was shot while walking in the 900 block of West Wilson Avenue.
Around 6:15 p.m. Friday, Kraft was shot while walking in the 900 block of West Wilson Avenue.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee and Yehuda Rothschild

UPTOWN  — Charity Taylor had barely been in Chicago two weeks when she found herself face-to-face with the gun violence that plagues its streets.

Friday evening, the 22-year-old walked out of a building on Wilson Avenue heading to her home across the street seconds after shots rang out striking a 55-year-old man later identified as Bobby Kraft.

"People were leaning against doors shouting 'Someone is shooting,'" said Taylor, who was recently trained to be a first responder. "I went to see what I could do. [Kraft] was laying down on the sidewalk, still talking, still moving. Just in complete shock."

Around 6:15 p.m., Kraft was shot in his right arm while walking in the 900 block of West Wilson Avenue, according to Officer Michelle Tannehill, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman.

Photos of the aftermath posted on social media show the shooting occurred outside the Ezra Multi-Service Center, 909 W. Wilson Ave. The center works to prevent homelessness, alleviate hunger and help struggling Chicagoans get back on their feet. 

Taylor joined a group of good Samaritans from her Church and community, Jesus People USA, who came to Kraft's aid in the immediate aftermath.

Someone called police. One man held his hand and "tried to calm him down." One woman grabbed rags from their building to press the wound and stop the bleeding, Taylor said.

"He was just moaning. He wasn't loud. Just little ruffled breaths. After two or three minutes, he stopped and I think he passed out," she said.

About five minutes after the shooting, Taylor waved down a squad car that had driven past the scene in confusion, Taylor said.

Kraft was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead, police said.

After the shooting, Annie Kraft started a GoFundMe page for the slain man asking for donations to give her ex-husband a proper burial, according to the website.

"He does not have any relatives to speak of, and I feel that I owe this to him, and out of respect, as a person who genuinely cared about him," the GoFundMe said. "To think that he would become a statistic of Chicago's murder rate, is truly unthinkable and heart wrenching! So, if you can find it in your heart, please give, and we are humbled that you would do so."

The page has raised more than $4,000 since it was started over the weekend.

The couple split after 19 years of marriage, but they "remained very good friends," said Kraft, who lives in Florida.

"He was a decent and kind soul [with] a big smile that lit up a room," she said adding, he wouldn't "harm a soul."

James, 34, was working across the street when he heard about five gunshots Friday and saw the shooter run off eastbound. Sensing he was no longer in any danger, he went outside to see if Kraft was OK, he said.

"I'm shot. Help me," he remembered the man say to him. "He was pretty calm actually. People were putting pressure on the wound, but there wasn't much blood."

While a buddy called police, James hung out with Kraft until police came. The block is accustomed to shootings, but they don't usually occur that close to his job, he said.

"It's not that abnormal really, but that's the first time I ever saw someone get shot," James said.

While the shootings aren't as frequent as last summer, Pamela Williams said they seem to be hitting closer and closer to home for her.

Earlier this month, Penny Gearhart, a Streetwise vendor who attended Sunday service at Williams' church, was fatally shot around the corner in the 5800 block of North Sheridan Road. The 57-year-old grandmother was shot along with a 58-year-old man when someone opened fire from a passing car on a Wednesday afternoon.

"It does make me question whether or not I want to be here," Williams said. "I know I had a hard time sleeping that night."

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