Inset: Matthew Lanske (GoFundMe). Background: Video showing the alleged street takeover in downtown Seattle, Wash., that was going on when Matthew Lanske's family says he was shot (KCPQ).
A 21-year-old Washington state man was shot three times during a street takeover and then filmed and ignored by bystanders as he bled out in front of them and begged for help, his family says.
Describing how he was allegedly turned away by 7-Eleven workers as well, Matthew Lanske told his mother, "They wouldn't let me in. They locked the doors. I begged them to let me in, and there was so much blood coming out of my stomach, I thought I was going to die," according to mom Shanda Barney. "He looked at me with tears in his eyes," Barney told local Fox affiliate KCPQ.
"What breaks my heart almost as much as the shooting itself is knowing that while my son was fighting for his life, people were standing around filming him, taking pictures instead of helping him," she said.
Police say Lanske was shot early Sunday near Seattle's Belltown neighborhood during an alleged street takeover. Lanske and his friends had just finished dinner when they were confronted by a man and two women who were taking part in the takeover, cops say.
The trio allegedly attempted to rob one of Lanske's friends at gunpoint, which prompted Lanske to try to wrestle the gun away. "My brother tried to take it from him [the man] and then ended up getting shot," Lanske's sister, Rebecca Garberding, told KCPQ.
Lanske took two bullets to the stomach and a third shattered his pelvis while striking a major artery. "He was bleeding to death yet somehow, he walked two blocks trying to find somebody to help him," Barney said.
Police found Lanske after he texted 911 and his girlfriend. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he remained on life support for two days before waking up, his family says.
"If you were running away from that area and you didn't do anything, feel ashamed," Barney said. "Please feel ashamed right now because you didn't help to do anything when you could have."
Lanske has undergone two surgeries and is expected to need at least two more, according to KCPQ. His recovery is expected to take months.
"We are asking for accountability, answers and justice," Barney said.
"Somehow someone out there knows something," Garberding added. "Maybe you saw something. Maybe you heard something. Just please come forward."
Police had not made any arrests as of Wednesday.
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