Escaping the Grip of Chicago’s Gangs

Now in a wheelchair, Paris Brown speaks of fear, loss, and the lure of gang life on Chicago's streets

Paris Brown, 26, sits in his apartment in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, Ill., on July, 20, 2020. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

CHICAGO—Paris Brown was 18 when he was paralyzed by a bullet in the back. He was driving around Chicago’s violent Austin neighborhood with friends who were in a gang when they entered rival territory.

Brown had always kept himself at arm’s length from the gang, never fully joining, though he spent a lot of time with them.