A black California construction worker was shot seven times after he asked a white driver to slow down inside a parking lot.
Father-of-five Bobby Gayle Jr., 45, a cementer mason, was at a parking lot in Stockton, California, with a friend, last week when a pick-up truck nearly struck them.
Surveillance footage shows Gayle yelling at the white driver to slow down who stops and get out of his car and confronts him.
The driver reportedly launches into a racist rant at Gayle, calling him the n-word, before pulling out his gun. He then opens fire, hitting Gayle seven times, including in the face.
Miraculously, no major arteries were hit and Gayle was transported to a nearby hospital where he is in stable condition.
'Our family, we never expected something like this to happen,' Gayle's brother, Marlon, told ABC News. 'He's just so happy to be alive, and blessed to be with his family and his children.'
A white man opened fire on Bobby Gayle on October 8 at a parking lot in Stockton, California, striking Bobby Gayle Jr. seven times but missing any vital arteries
Gayle allegedly pleaded with the man as the shooter hurled racial slurs at thim
Marlon said that Gayle was able to roll under a nearby vehicle while his friend ran away and called 9-11. Gayle then called his brother and left a voicemail, tell him he had been shot and asked Marlon to pray for him.
'Marlon, I've been shot. Pray for me. I swear to God. Please. In the name of Jesus. Hallelujah,' Gayle said in the voicemail.
Marlon said that his brother and his friend had begged the white man not shoot them as he shouted the n-word repeatedly at them before opening fire.
Stockton Assistant Police Chief Jim Chraska said the department was investigating the case as a potential hate crime.
The police described the shooter as a short white male, in his thirties, wearing a dark-colored jacket and jeans and driving a black late model Chevrolet Silverado with chrome-colored wheels and tinted windows.
Gayle, pictured with three of his five children, was listed in stable condition
Bobby Gayle Jr., at the top, is pictured with family, who say they are thankful that he survived
Marlon Gayle replayed his brother's voicemail and hopes the shooter will be caught soon
There is a $10,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
'We take these types of crimes very seriously and so we're investigating it to the fullest. We have some detectives assigned to it, as well as an officer that's assigned to the FBI task force,' Chraska told KCRA.
Despite the alleged racial nature of the crime, Marlon said his family would not give into hate as the oversee Gayle's recovery.
'We're not going to let that message of hatred take away that blessing that our brother is alive and that, you know, hatred and violence, it will never win,' Marlon told Fox 40.
He added, 'We believe in forgiveness, but that person, he definitely needs to be taken off the streets. He's dangerous.'
A GoFundMe has also been set up to help the Gayle family care for Gayle's recovery and his five children, raising more than $7,000 in one day.
Stockton Police officials are looking for this pick-up truck belonging to the shooter
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