At least 14 people were wounded in a mass shooting at a funeral in Chicago's Gresham neighborhood on Tuesday evening, police said. One person of interest was taken to custody shortly after the incident and is being interrogated. However, the police noted that the shooters weren't immediately known.
The injured have been rushed to various hospitals across the city but their condition is still unknown. It isn't still clear if all the victims were attending the funeral. This is the latest in the growing incidents of gun violence across Chicago in recent times that have often led the White House to criticize the city's mayor for not taking stricter action to curb the growing crime.
Out of the Blue
Multiple suspects are being sought after the deadly gunfire erupted at 7:30 pm in the 1000 block of West 79th Street, according to authorities. The shootings started when a man in a black vehicle opened fire on a group of mourners attending a funeral on the block.
The targets returned fire, crashing the vehicle in exchange, while the occupants of the vehicle fled in different directions. All the victims were adults and were rushed to at least five different hospitals by the Chicago Fire Department where they are being treated. Police will start interrogation once they recover. According to witnesses, there were more women than men among the victims.
First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said that one person of interest has been detained and is being questioned but no arrests have been made yet. At least 60 shell casings have been located at the scene. "Right now, it's not known if anyone was not a part of the funeral or a part of the vehicle. Of the 14 victims, it is unknown right now if there were any bystanders, so to speak," Carter said.
Motive Still Not Known
Police said that the motive behind the shooting is still unknown and have urged anyone who knows something or saw something to contact that department. According to the police, the people fired upon were attending the funeral of a victim of gun violence when the incident took place.
Witnesses say that most of the people fired upon were white. One of the witnesses said that following the shooting, bodies were lying everywhere with people shot in the legs, stomach, back and all over the places. Police believe that the shooting was planned because the shots were fired at the time when all the victims were just coming out of the funeral home, as if the suspects were waiting for them.
Following the shooting, the victims' family members rushed to the spot but they too are clueless about the reason behind the deadly shooting. The incident comes just hours after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that federal agents are being sent to the city to curb violence. Lightfoot had so long been skeptical of federal agents being sent to Chicago by President Donald Trump due to the controversy in Portland, Oregon.
The growing incidents of crime and gun violence in Chicago have been a major concern lately. Crime statistics indicate that there were at least 13 murders in the area in the past month compared with three in June 2019. The Grisham district has witnessed 132 shootings so far this year before Tuesday's shooting, an increase of 32 percent from the same period last year.
