2 dead, 17 injured in Sunday mass shootings
CHICAGO - Two separate mass shootings in Chicago on Sunday night left at least two dead and 17 injured, authorities said.
Around 8:45 p.m., a gunman riding in a black SUV sprayed bullets at a group of people in South Shore, killing one woman and wounding another five people, according to Chicago police.
Just two hours later, another woman was killed and at least 10 people were shot in Marquette Park, fire officials said.
No one was in custody in either shooting. There have been at least six mass shootings in Chicago this month.
In the Marquette Park attack, emergency crews were called to the scene of an accident at 63rd and Western Avenue about 10:30 p.m. when a shooting occurred just a block away on Artesian, fire officials said.
A group of people was gathered outside about 10:50 p.m. when three people came out of an alley and started firing, Chicago police said.
A woman was shot in the chest and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. She hasn’t been identified.
Other injuries included:
- Man, 35, was shot in the leg
- Woman, 57, was shot in the shoulder
- Woman, 23, was shot in the hip
- Man, 27, suffered an unknown gunshot wound
- Woman, 38m was shot in the arm and leg
- Woman, 21, was grazed in the head
- Man, 42, was shot in the leg
- Ma,, 29, was shot in the leg
- Man, 21, was shot in the leg
- Man, 34, was shot in the torso area.
Neighbors said large groups of people frequently gather near the corner of 63rd and Artesian across from a liquor store.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said he called 9-1-1 about 30 minutes before the shooting because he was concerned about the group, but said officers did not respond. He said he even walked into the 7th District police station nearby to tell police about the gathering earlier in the night and was told to call 9-1-1.
Jesus Abarca, another resident on the block, watched police work the scene with his three young children nearby.
"We’re moving out next week," Abarca said. "I don’t feel safe here."
Evidence markers were scattered around a red sedan parked near the alley just south of 63rd.
Abarca hopes his next neighborhood feels safer but noted "everywhere is crazy right now."
In the first attack, at least six people were standing outside in the 2000 block of East 71st Street around 8:45 p.m. when a gunman opened fire from a passing black SUV, according to police. It was last seen driving west on 71st street.
A woman was shot six times and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
She was identified as Kristina Grimes by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
A 15-year-old boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the foot and knee and was stabilized, police said.
Other injuries include:
- A 19-year-old man who was shot in the leg
- A 20-year-old man who was struck in the buttocks
- A 21-year-old man who was hit in his left arm
- Another 21-year-old man who was shot once in the arm and twice in the leg
The men were taken to hospitals, where their conditions were stabilized.
At the scene in South Shore, some bloodied clothing lay on the sidewalk next to a tipped-over bicycle.
A front window of a nail salon on the corner of 71st and Clyde streets was shattered, and there was at least one bullet hole in a dark-colored van parked out front.
Police walked in and out of a restaurant still open next store. Onlookers said the area is very busy during the day but quiets down at night.
These were at least the fifth and sixth mass shootings in Chicago this month. In the early hours of June 15, eight people were methodically hunted down and shot, most of them in the head, one of them in the back, police have said. Five people were killed in the attack and another three were wounded.