Chris Martin’s family members are at his bedside at the hospital as he fights for his life with a bullet wound to the head.
They’re asking for prayers from the public and also for information about those who are responsible for the violent attack that sent the 27-year-old to the hospital, where he’s been clinging to life since this past weekend.
Chris’s mother, Donna Martin, said she is heartbroken by the devastating shooting.
“I’m full of so much anger,” Donna Martin told KTLA. She said her son is all about “joy” and “light” and she is shocked that someone like Chris could be in the hospital suffering the way he is.
The Martins are from Bonita, outside San Diego. They said Chris was celebrating his birthday in Los Angeles.
After leaving a nightclub around 3 a.m. last Saturday, he was near a restaurant on the Sunset Strip when a stranger pulled a gun on one of his friends.
The robber demanded valuables from Chris’s friend, which led to Chris intervening. As he tried to step in to help, the robber pulled the trigger and shot him in the head, investigators say.
He is currently in critical condition. Chris’s family conducts an endless rotation at his bedside at a local hospital.
“He was one of the only people that would hug me,” Chris’s brother, Michael Martin, told KTLA. “I could let all my emotions out.”
His family said Chris was a star athlete in high school and won a full scholarship to play football at UC Davis.
Since graduating, he’s started several businesses, held various jobs and enjoyed various pursuits including music, clothing design, mentoring and helping others with nonprofits. His mother described it as maximizing his time on earth.
“Christopher is worth fighting for,” Donna Martin said. “Pray for him if you are a praying person.”
She’s asking the public to lend a hand and help investigators find the person who shot her son before they hurt someone else.
“This could very well be you or someone you love … so let’s stop them. Let’s stop them now.”
The Martins have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the massive medical bills the family is now facing.
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at 213-972-2971. You can also submit an anonymous tip online at LACrimestoppers.org.
Correction: An earlier version of this article indicated that the alleged robbery took place in West Hollywood. While the scene of the incident is on the Sunset Strip, it was across the municipal border with Los Angeles, and the LAPD, not the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, is investigating.