Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek says she'd never seen a mass-casualty event like the Highland Park massacre
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek had just left a parade in a neighboring community on July 4th when she got a call about a horror in Highland Park.
On Monday, Banek served not only as the county coroner, but she also used her training to try to save lives.
Charlie De Mar: "So when you got that call, did you respond to the scene?"
Banek: "Immediately."
Banek is a trained combat medic.
"I had an urgency or a need to help if I was able to in that capacity," she said.
But instead, Banek had the heavy duty of telling two families still on scene Monday that their loved ones were gone.
De Mar: "Have you ever been involved in a mass-causality event like you were Monday?"
Banek: "Never. Nothing to this scale – no, certainly not."
De Mar: "The weapon used was similar to an AR-15 assault-style rifle. What does that do to the human body?"
Banek: "It just really destroys parts of the human body. One of the victims in particular had significant damage. In fact, I would go to the extent to say at least two of the victims had extensive bodily damage."
The randomness of the attack shattered a community's peace of mind. And for Banek, there is weight in the stories of all seven victims left behind.
"There's a young child who was orphaned by this tragedy; a gentleman who was traveling here from Mexico," she said. "We're not going to heal overnight. So I think, you know, will be long-lasting in the history of what we've been involved with."
The community continues its healing process. Banek said while responding to a mass casualty event like she did Monday was surreal, she was not surprised.