Man escapes shooter after suffering three gunshot wounds

Timothy Anselimo, 26, is now recovering from orthopedic surgery after he suffered three gunshots to the hand, hip and chest during the mass shooting at the Landing in downtown Jacksonville Sunday.

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Anselimo's parents told Action News Jax he will need another surgery, but they are hopeful for his recovery.

“I don’t really care if he plays another video game, I’m just glad that my son is alive,” Anselimo’s father Edward Pagan, said.

Anselimo is an active member of the gaming community. He drove to Jacksonville specially for the Madden tournament with a group of friends who also participated.

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His parents said his younger brother was watching the tournament live on television when they heard gunshots.

Anselimo’s mother, Sujeil Lopez, said they immediately got in the car and started driving to Jacksonville. It took them three hours to get to the hospital, without any information on their son.

“The worst went through my head,” Pagan said. “The hospital won’t tell you if our son is there or if he’s alive. The worst thing goes through your body.”

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“Intense,” Lopez said about the drive to Jacksonville. “It took me three hours to get here with no information, other than what the news was saying, (that) there were two fatalities, not knowing if it was my son.”

His parents later learned Anselimo was initially shot in the hand and fell trying to jump over the fence. As he was getting up to run again, he was struck again in the hip and chest.

His friends helped him over another fence and got him to first responders.

“He’s very stressed, he’s upset, he’s depressed, he’s sad, he’s hurt,” Lopez said. “He just said before he went into surgery he couldn’t believe this happened to him.”

Anselimo was one of six victims taken to University of Florida Health for treatment. Four were released Sunday; the other two, including Anselimo, are still in the hospital.

UF Health told Action News Jax the other patient is in stable condition.

“If you lost your hand and couldn’t do what you love, it would be a devastation to you,” Lopez said. “So that’s how he is. He’s devastated right now.”

Lopez said now they are focusing on his recovery and hope to have him back home in Tampa soon.

“I’m just glad he’s alive,” Pagan said. “That’s the only thing that really means anything to me."

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