A mystery good Samaritan's quick actions are being credited with saving the life of a 30-year-old south Minneapolis pizza delivery man who was shot in the heart late at night over the weekend and was within a few minutes of dying.

Andrew Gryskiewicz, of Minneapolis, is in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center, an upgrade from critical, after being shot about 3:15 a.m. Saturday near E. 31st Street and Park Avenue, while en route back to Dulono's Pizza. The shooter remains at large, police said Monday morning.

While police have yet to reveal specifics about how the shooting unfolded, Gryskiewicz's father, Duffy Boeser, said his son has been "remembering a little bit at a time" from his hospital bed.

Boeser said Gryskiewicz was outside his car near E. 31st Street and Park Avenue, and a man walked up and "pointed a gun at him and said 'I want your car.' "

Boeser said his son pleaded with the man to not take his car, then the man "pulled the trigger" and left without the vehicle. Boeser is unsure whether his son was robbed.

"'All I saw was a big silver gun,'" Boeser quoted his son as saying. Gryskiewicz's only other memory about his attacker was that he wore a bandanna over his face.

Gryskiewicz

Boeser said his wounded son got in his car, "trying to get away," and started driving back toward Dulono's before he hit a curb and came to a halt about five blocks from the shooting, near 3rd Avenue S. and E. 31st Street.

A man passing by saw Gryskiewicz slumped over in the car and "started banging on the window, trying to get Andrew's attention," said Boeser, who's been in touch with police about the investigation. Unable to rouse Gryskiewicz, the man yelled toward a residence for someone to call 911, Boeser said.

The emergency call was made, and by the time officers arrived, the man had left.

"Police don't know who he is," Boeser said. "He just kind of took off."

Doctors said Gryskiewicz "didn't have one minute to spare," Boeser said. "Add 3 or 4 minutes to any of that, and he's dead, one of the surgeons said. Another said he was dead; didn't have enough blood to record a pulse."

Dulono's, a staple of the Lyn-Lake neighborhood for its pizza and live bluegrass music, stays open until 3 a.m. daily.

Boeser said his son, who grew up in the Lakeville area, has never had a problem since he began working for Dulono's about a year ago. The restaurant's operators address the dangers with its delivery people, and "they don't put their sign on the car," Boeser said.

Jared Gruett, who bought the bar and restaurant in 2014, said employees have had minor dust-ups with the public in the past, but they never turned violent.

"Nothing like this," Gruett said. "To target a man who's working, just trying to pay his bills is depraved."

To assist Gryskiewicz in his recovery, a fundraising page at www.gofundme.com/2g2ukz8 has been started.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call police at 612-692-TIPS (8477) or call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Star Tribune staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482