This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

A party in Chicago held to memorialize someone who was killed earlier in the year turned into a scene of chaos and violence early Sunday when two gunmen opened fire, picking off partygoers as they fled the scene.

The Chicago Police Department confirmed on Sunday morning that 13 people were wounded by gunfire, with the incident unfolding at multiple locations.

Four are in critical condition in hospital, the rest are in stable condition, CPD’s Fred Waller said in a press briefing. The ages of the victims range from 16 to 48, he said.

Two people were in custody and being questioned on Sunday morning. Police said the incident appeared to be personal, not gang-related as first reported. One of two arrested was apprehended with a weapon, Waller said, while the other was wounded. Officers recovered a revolver.

“There was a dispute where shots were fired inside,” Waller said. “The people started to spill out, and as they spilled out more shots were fired. So we have about three (shooting) scenes.”

Waller said the party was a memorial for someone who had been killed in April. He described a “chaotic” scene but said officers arrived within minutes and were assisting the wounded before ambulances arrived. Some of the outside shooting was caught on police surveillance video, he said.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute at the party being held to honor the life of a man killed in April, Waller added. “Definitely there were two different shooters. It looked like they were just shooting randomly at people as they exited the party.”

According to police, around 12.35am ShotSpotter technology alerted officers of shots fired in the 5700 block of South May Street in Englewood, a crime-troubled neighborhood about 10 miles from the heart of downtown Chicago.

According to local media reports, the incident occurred at a party in honor of Lonell Irvin, a 22-year-old man fatally shot during an attempted carjacking earlier this year.

Witnesses said shots were fired in the house. As partygoers began to flee, a shooter was seen on video firing more shots. A second shooter was seen firing a weapon.

“From outside, definitely there were two different shooters,” Waller said. “It looked like they were just shooting randomly at people as they exited the party.”



Local resident Terrence Daniely told WLS Chicago: “I was awoken by the sound of, seemed like four, five or six gunshots and it seemed pretty loud, so it seemed kind of close.”

He added: “I heard the sounds of people screaming and running from a party on the street,” he said. “The police response was amazing, it seemed like there were 100 police officers running to the scene.”

The Rev Michael Pfleger, pastor of nearby Saint Sabina Church, said that guns are too often used to express “pain, anger and frustration”.

“They were gathered to remember someone else who was Killed,” Pfleger posted on Facebook.

He continued: “So this is how we remember??? When do we end this GUN MADNESS? Anywhere else in the Country this is a Mass Shooting, in Chicago it’s just Another Shooting.”

According to The Chicago Tribune, 2,594 people have been shot in the city this year, which includes deaths and woundings. That is 248 fewer than 2018 and is the third straight year of significant decline in the numbers, with the improvement being felt across the city, including in high-crime areas.

Police have credited Chicago’s drop in crime to the use of technology that helps predict where shootings might occur, while experts also credit anti-violence programs that offer jobs and gang conflict mediation.

But homicide totals are still significantly higher for Chicago than comparable metropolitan areas, such as New York or Los Angeles.

In New York, figures compiled by police officials show the city has recorded 249 murders between 1 January and 6 October , up just over 1% from 246 murders in the same period in 2018.

• This article was amended on 22 December 2019. The figure cited from the Chicago Tribune, of 2,594 people having been shot in the city this year, relates to deaths and woundings, not just deaths as an earlier version said.