Man left unable to walk after being shot by armed robber. He was just walking home from a drag show
Jack Castillo, who is originally from the UK, was shot and robbed after leaving a drag show in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighbourhood. (YouTube/CBS 8 San Diego)
A British immigrant living in San Diego was shot in the leg by an armed robber.
Jack Castillo was walking home through San Diego‘s Hillcrest neighbourhood early Friday (25 June) morning after going to a drag show at a nearby bar when a man approached him from behind and put a gun to his head.
“I was on my phone, turn around and he had a gun to my head,” Castillo told KGTV . “I thought it was a taser. I thought it was a joke. Then, he shot me in the knee.”
Castillo recalls “seeing blood” and “screaming”, but had “so much adrenaline going on in my body” that he doesn’t “remember feeling pain”.
“I just remember feeling fear,” he said.
The San Diego Police Department told KGTV that the gunman demanded a small bag Castillo was wearing at the time. Investigators said the suspect shot Castillo in the leg when he refused to hand it over.
Castillo said his passport, green card, AirPods, house keys and other valuables were all in the bag.
The horrific attack left Castillo in hospital, where he underwent surgery. He has created a GoFundMe page to cover his medical expenses.
“I am a queer immigrant from the UK, living and working in San Diego,” he wrote.
“I do not have health insurance, I have been working two jobs every day for weeks to try and make ends meet and now I’m going to be unable to walk freely for [eight] weeks and I am scared I won’t be able to pay my rent or bills,” he said.
Since launching the fundraiser, Castillo has undergone surgery on his leg. The campaign has raised over $25,500 of its $30,000 goal.
Castillo told CBS 8 San Diego that the attacker hadn’t stolen his pride.
“I feel very supported by the community,” Castillo said. “He’s already shot me once, and I’m confident that the San Diego Police Department will do a good job of finding him. And I hope that he does time for this.”
He described his attacker as a man, about 5’11”, possibly in his early 30s and with reddish-brown facial hair.
Anyone with information about the attack is urged to call the San Diego police or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
