A 42-year-old man is hospitalized in intensive care after trying to help a stranger who was being attacked outside a popular Hollywood restaurant following a Cinco de Mayo celebration.
The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. Saturday morning outside El Compadre Mexican restaurant in the 7400 block of Sunset Boulevard.
“We were cleaning things up, putting our equipment away for the night and these two cars pull up, looked like they were already having an altercation,” Jorge Ramirez-Galdamez, an artistic events creator who had been hired by the restaurant, told KTLA.
As he was wrapping things up on the back patio, he said the argument between the two groups started to escalate.
“This guy came out of the backseat, ran to the other vehicle and through the window, while the window was down, proceeded to punch this woman repeatedly and then continued to open the door and punch her while she was unconscious,” Ramirez-Galdamez said.
When the 42-year-old came to the woman’s defense, the attacker pulled out a gun and shot him in the stomach. The gunman then took off in a Mercedes G Wagon with the female victim inside.
Despite getting shot, Ramirez-Galdamez said he doesn’t regret his actions.
“There’s a lot of people that would turn the other cheek and just walk away,” he said. “I couldn’t live with that on my conscience, knowing that poor girl could have been dead, and I could have done something about it.”
Jorge Ramirez-Galdamez, 42, seen here in the hospital after getting shot outside El Compadre in Hollywood on May 6, 2023. (KTLA) 
Jorge Ramirez-Galdamez seen here on the ground outside El Compadre in Hollywood after being shot in the stomach on May 6, 2023. (ANG) 
First responders with LAFD seen here loading Jorge Ramirez-Galdamez after he was shot outside El Compadre on May 6, 2023. (ANG) 
Police on the scene of the shooting at El Compadre May 6, 2023. (ANG) 
The popular Mexican restaurant in Hollywood was the scene of a shooting on May 6, 2023. (ANG) 
Jorge Ramirez-Galdamez seen here with his wife and children. (Ramirez-Galdamez)
The 42-year-old has a long road to recovery, but his wife and five children will be by his side every step of the way.
“I’m very proud of him, our kids are proud of him,” his wife, Delores Mckinniss, told KTLA. “He’s our hero and we could never be more grateful for this man.”
Ramirez-Galdamez is expected to be released from the hospital soon, but will need reconstructive surgery, as well as time, to recover. His friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help get his family through this difficult time.
The suspect in the shooting is still at large.
