CHICAGO -- The family of the Chicago man who was shot and killed during the Nova Music Festival massacre in October are calling for the release of Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza strip.
23-year-old Mark Shindel was reportedly shot and killed at the hands of Hamas while attending the Nova Music Festival in the Negev desert three miles away from the Gaza-Israel border on Oct. 7, 2023.
Shindel's friend, who survived the massacre, told his parents that Mark saved other festival goers by warning them about the approaching gunmen prior to his death.
“His friend had a mobile phone with the map and they tried to run away to the military base," Igor Shindel, Mark's father, said. “When they came out from the bushes, Mark saw the terrorists approaching.”
1,200 people were brutally massacred at the Nova Music Festival, as well as hundreds more taken hostage.
Shindel studied construction engineering at the Ben Gurion University of Negev in Be'er Sheva, Israel.
Watch the complete Julian Crews' story in the video player above.