Gabriel Eslami was enjoying a high school reunion in Five Points South Saturday night.
"Everyone was laughing, hanging out, talking to each other, catching up."
He was in line waiting for Hush Lounge, when suddenly he was being driven to the hospital in a friend's car.
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"When I went down, and I got back up, I kinda looked back, and all I saw were bodies on the ground, and the smoke from the guns. It was literally something out a horror movie," explained Eslami. "Bodies laying out everywhere with smoke covering them. Shoes laying out, different things. A mess, phones. It was literally, survival instinct kicked in. Fight or flight."
He and his group of friends arrived in Five Points around 10 p.m. He said the line was as for the business was already backed up to the intersection. Five minutes later came the gunfire.
"I booked it. I ran."
He didn't realize he had been shot until he couldn't put weight on his leg. A friend called out his name, helped him across the street and ran to find their car to rush Eslami to the hospital. The hospital treated Eslami for the gunshot in his left leg. Now he is sharing his story, hoping to inspire change.
"I have lost a few good friends to gun violence, and I couldn't put myself in their shoes. But now, knowing how close I came. I mean the bullet missed my main artery by millimeters according to my doctor. Knowing how close I came to winding up like them, it's gotta stop," he said. "I want to get my story out there, I want to get the message out there, you know, I am only 24 years old. Some people out there were younger than me, older than me, and we can't even live our full lives anymore."