SPRINGFIELD — A 15-year-old is in juvenile detention after police said he shot a 16-year-old outside of McDonald’s on East Main Street Wednesday afternoon.
The 15-year-old was booked into detention on a charge of attempted murder, according to investigators.
Officers responded to the McDonald’s around 5 p.m. Wednesday after the victim ran into the restaurant for help after being shot.
A woman ordering in the drive-thru heard the shooting and ran to help the boy.
“The young man that fired the gun was probably five feet in front of him and they were arguing. That’s what got our attention,” Starr Huff said. “The next thing I knew the young man shot the gun, shot him in the chest, and then as I jumped out he shot ... two more times at him.”
The teen’s fear was palpable, his pupils dilated when he asked Huff to tell his mother and grandmother that he loved them, that he was dying.
“I said ‘you’re not going to die. Not today. You’re not going to die. I’m not going to let you,’” Huff said.
She continued to help him until paramedics arrived and took him to a local hospital.
“The fear on that young man’s face was enough ... was enough for me to do everything that I would ever have to do that I gave my best efforts to save his life,” she said.
The victim’s name has not been released.
