West Side Man Captures Own Fatal Shooting On Video

Antonio Perkins video
A video posted to Facebook appears to show 28-year-old Antonio Perkins capturing his own fatal shooting. YouTube
Antonio Perkins video
A video posted to Facebook appears to show 28-year-old Antonio Perkins capturing his own fatal shooting. YouTube

West Side Man Captures Own Fatal Shooting On Video

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Chicago police say they are investigating a video that appears to show a West Side man capturing his own fatal shooting.

The video, posted to Facebook, appears to show the final minutes of 28-year-old Antonio Perkins’ life, and the moment it was taken. A warning, it’s graphic and shocking, but can be viewed here.

Perkins was hanging out with friends on the sidewalk in the Lawndale neighborhood Wednesday evening. It appears he is the person taking the video. People are sitting in lawn chairs, laughing together, teasing each other; a child’s voice can be heard and there’s an empty stroller in the background.

For several minutes, it’s just that — some friends enjoying a hot summer evening.

Almost six minutes into the video, Perkins looks away from the camera suddenly. Then, shots ring out. Perkins and his phone fall to the ground after two rounds, but the gunfire continues. When it ends, Perkins’ friends rush to him.

The screen is black, but the pain is palpable.

“You good, Tony. You good…” one woman says over and over. “You OK, Tony. You OK,” another woman reassures. But as seconds turn into minutes the reassuring talking to Perkins turns more and more desperate.

“Girl, you’ve gotta put pressure on that,” a man shouts as others wave down a police car.

“No more f***ing guns,” a woman yells.

It is a gruesome, shocking scene. And in some parts of Chicago, it’s an almost-daily occurrence. The video was played almost 500,000 times in 17 hours.

Perkins was pronounced dead at 9:07 P.M. on Wednesday.

He is one of more than 270 people who have been killed in Chicago so far this year.

Katie O’Brien is a producer and reporter for WBEZ. Follow her @katieobez.