Two people died and many more got severely injured after a gunman opened fire at a “pop-up” party in South Side Chicago.
The police were called in the wee hours of Sunday. They discovered as many as 15 injured people at the spot. The victims’ ages ranged between 20 to 44 years. The Chicago Police Department officials declared two dead on the spot while the others were shifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown gave out the details to the reporters in a news conference on Sunday morning stating that the shooting occurred at a “makeshift pop-up” party held at the garage of a tow company. The garage was used to set up the bar. He also claimed that when the police arrived at the crime scene it was still very chaotic, as the people were running and screaming out of panic everywhere.
Brown stated that four guns were recovered from the crime scene. The investigation is still in the preliminary stages. It is still too early to determine if there were multiple shooters involved.
According to the police, among the dead, there is a woman named Rayneesha Dotson, 30, who was shot three times, while the other deceased is identified as Lionel Darling aged 39, who was shot twice in the neck and leg.
This is the second shooting in the premises of Chicago in less than a year. In July 2020, 15 people were shot outside a funeral home which was later recognized as a revenge shooting where two rival gangs were involved.
The Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot took to Twitter to condemn the shooting and the resulting deaths. She also pleaded with the general public if they knew anyone responsible for the shooting, come forward, and cooperate with the police.
According to Brown, the motive of the shooting is still unclear and up till now, no arrests have been made in connection to the incident.
