Roslindale student comes to aid of famous victim

Roslindale native Zachary Trayes-Gibson and a friend thought the screams they heard on a Chicago street Friday night were coming from the party they were going to, until they looked over their shoulders.

"I saw a man throwing blows and doing physical damage to this woman," said Trayes-Gibson, 21, a third-year biology student at the nearby University of Chicago. "So we looked at each other and ran toward him."

Trayes-Gibson was with 19-year-old Rachel McFadden of Maryland, also a biology student. The attacker fled when they approached. As McFadden knelt to check on the woman, Trayes-Gibson chased the mugger for a block.

McFadden relayed details of the assault to a 911 dispatcher from an unexpected victim. The woman on the ground was Carol Moseley Braun, a 2004 presidential candidate and former US senator. She had been fidgeting with her keys in front of her home when she was mugged, she said.

Trayes-Gibson said the mugger threatened him. "I saw the steel of the knife blade in the street light," he said. "He came at me with it, I threw up my hands, took a couple steps backward and that seemed like it was enough for him." As Trayes-Gibson looked back to check on his friend and the woman, the man jumped into an SUV and sped away.

The incident made Trayes-Gibson and McFadden heroes. They've appeared on national television and have plans to join Braun, who suffered a broken wrist, for dinner this week.

"[Rachel and I] are both happy to get back to the real world," he said. "The 15 minutes is up."