A bullet is still lodged in a man’s leg after he was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood this week, and was then shot after he gave up his cash. 

For the first time in days, Jay Gabel will get to sleep in his bed after being released from the hospital. Meanwhile, Chicago police were still looking for the man who robbed and shot Gabel Tuesday night, as Gabe tries to come to terms with the fact that is now a victim of Chicago gun violence.

Gabel is moving slowly and with the help of a walker.

“I am of victim of gun violence now,” he said.

It is a reality with which Gabel is coming to terms. He said his sense of security in his Avondale is now shattered.

“I’m still one of the lucky ones. I’m here to talk about it,” he said. “I’m walking two days after I got shot.”

On Tuesday night just before 9 p.m. near the intersection of Milwaukee and Belmont avenues, Gabel recalls the moment an armed robber jumped in front of him on the sidewalk.

“He has a gun on him, and I stop and pause, and he’s like, ‘Give me your wallet,'” Gabel said. “So I kind of froze for a minute, pulled the phone away from my ear, and like, handed him my wallet.”

Yet despite the fact that Gabel handed over his wallet and cash, it was not enough for the robber.

“There was no reason for him to shoot at me at that point, and that’s the part that really like, what bothers me, I think, the most,” Gabel said.

The bullet shattered Gabel’s fibula.

“The bullet’s still in me,” he said.

As seen on an X-ray, the bullet remains lodged on his leg despite surgery. Gabel is back at home after two days in the hospital, and is counting his blessings — as he has thought about how the bullet could have hit him somewhere else, like his back or his head.

Doctors said it will take at least six months of physical therapy before Gabel could possibly walk without any assistance. As police look for the gunmen, Gabel is grateful for those in the Avondale neighborhood who rushed to help well before police arrived.

“That tells me that the people in Chicago still look out for each other,” he said.

While the CPD looks for the gunman, Gabel wants him caught — especially given what police told him.

“They thought that sounded like it might have been someone who was involved with another stick up,” said Gabel.

Gabel never thought he would become a victim of gun violence. But he had a message for the gunman.

“What did you have to gain from this? Nothing,” said Gabel. “You’re an idiot, and you’re a coward.”