Posted on 12/25/2011 10:03:58 AM PST by markomalley
SAN BERNARDINO - Army Spec. Christopher Sullivan survived a suicide bombing while serving a tour in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army last December.
Now his family is on pins and needles again, after a gunman shot Sullivan during his welcome-home party Friday in San Bernardino.
"My son didn't deserve this. He served his country," said his mother, Suzanne Sullivan, a San Bernardino resident.
Sullivan, 22, a 2008 San Bernardino High School graduate who was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., was taken to a hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.
His condition was not known, but family members described him as being in extremely critical condition and paralyzed. Suzanne Sullivan said he suffered two gunshot wounds to his back, which shattered his spine.
It's an incident that has angered his family, especially since Sullivan was exposed to frequent danger in the Middle East, only to face this attack on American soil.
"To come home to this, it's so unfair," his aunt Theresa Marquez said.
Police said friends were throwing a party for Sullivan in the 2800 block of Garner Avenue because Sullivan was home on leave.
"Everybody there was supposed to be his friend or an acquaintance," Marquez said.
Family members said a man at the party got into an argument with Sullivan's brother. When Sullivan intervened, the man pulled out a gun and fired at him.
Sullivan's brother and the other man began arguing over football a little before midnight, San Bernardino Police Lt. Gwendolyn Waters said Saturday.
The gunman, described as a Latino in his 20s, punched Sullivan's brother, Waters said. Sullivan stepped in and the other man pulled a gun from his waistband and fired at least three shots. Two shots hit Sullivan, one in the neck and the other in the buttocks.
Waters said the shooting happened outside in a side yard. Between 30 and 40 people were at the party.
The gunman fled the home before police arrived.
Sullivan had been recovering in Kentucky after a Dec.12, 2010, suicide bombing in Kandahar, which killed five of his fellow soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division. He suffered a cracked collar bone and brain damage.
He was awarded a Purple Heart for his injuries.
"He was lucky he came home," his mother said.
Sullivan played varsity football and was also on the wrestling team at San Bernardino High, said his sister, Crystal Watson.
He was set to complete his enlistment in the Army in April, and was planning to come home to go to college.
"He was so happy to be back. He kept saying, everything was going to be OK," Watson said.
Police have not identified a suspect in the case.
Suzanne Sullivan pleaded for the shooter to surrender.
"I just want him to turn himself in," she said.
Wounds like he needs a better class of “friends” to “hang out” with.
Stay off the streets and stay home. No one thinks you are cool if you are hanging with losers.
“Wounds” should be “sounds”
Maybe not.
Unbelievable. We are being over run by animals in this country.
I’d bet no booze within a mile of the place ..... Right!
DAMN!!! I HATE to hear bout his kind of stuff! The guy’s been through enough...I hope to God they find the creep who shot him and mete out a little justice on him before he goes to prison!!!
It’s that blasted Latino “machismo” horse manure.
Let this be a cautionary tale for all. This wouldn’t have happened to him if he was home with his family. As for partying with friends, nobody has 40 friends and it only takes one scumbag to ruin everybody’s day.
When I was in the Navy, I’ve had co-workers get beat up and two shot—one at a party, one shot in the back while walking away from a fight in a nightclub parking lot at 2 AM.
I’m not trying to assign blame in this Tupac-dispute, we’ll never know and it doesn’t matter. The best way to deal with it is to not be there.
Good grief.
What the hell! That’s what has you outraged? The man has a right to attend a party in his honor and then leave uninjured. He just survived a military suicide bombing after months in combat. You think his first thought that night was to be cautious when attending a party in his honor in his own country? For Gods sake there is no end to the piety and self righteousness on FR.
Latino...Football? Damn Raiders!
“Machismo” should be classified in the same category with “honor” killing.
Is it possible the gunman is an illegal?
What an idiotic comment.
Gee, what a surprise.
Of course. But understand that you're talking theory. "yldstrk" is talking reality.
40 person party + alcohol + drugs + guns + illegal aliens sounds like a typical Saturday night in East LA.
Which only exists in hindsight. Neither of you were there, know him, know his family or his friends, yet you feel justified in painting the tragedy with the broad brush of your own assumptions. His post was the most multi-faceted disgusting post I have ever read on FR.
He took a stand as the man that he is and the coward would not punch him...but rather shot him. I pray he will recover.
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