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Juneteenth drive-by in Chicago
A drive-by shooting on Chicago’s South Side late Friday left at least 12 people wounded after two people inside an SUV opened fire on a crowd before fleeing, police said.
“At least 12 shot after SUV pulls up and opens fire on a crowd, Chicago police say Police in Chicago say at least 12 people in a crowd on a street suffered gunshot wounds after an SUV pulled up and two people inside started shooting CHICAGO -- At least 12 people in a crowd on a Chicago street suffered gunshot wounds after an SUV pulled up and two people inside started shooting, police said”
Police said the SUV pulled up to a crowd on the city’s far South Side just after 11 p.m. on June 19, and officers initially responded to a report of a person shot.
In the first scene findings, police said a 32-year-old woman had two gunshot wounds to her back and a 44-year-old man had four graze wounds to his back, and both were transported to local hospitals in good condition.
The victims ranged in age from 17 to 47, and police said at least 21 people had been shot across Chicago since Friday evening, with four of those shootings proving fatal.
The shooting occurred on Juneteenth, the US holiday commemorating the end of slavery, and it came after former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first visitors to the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side.
Victims, hospitals, and quotes
Police said two people were left in critical condition, including one who suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh, and the group caught in the gunfire included eight men and four women aged 17 to 47.
USA Today reported that a 17-year-old boy and a 26-year-old man were listed in critical condition, while a 13th person refused medical treatment after sustaining unknown injuries, and police said no arrests had been made.
CBS News said a 26-year-old woman was in critical condition and was being treated at the University of Chicago Hospital, while other victims were listed in good condition at local hospitals including the University of Chicago Medical Center, Christ and Trinity hospitals.
Street Pastor Donovan Price told CBS News, "It should be celebrating," and added, "Fireworks should not turn into gunshots."
Police said detectives assigned to Area Two were investigating the shooting, and ABC News reported that further information was not immediately available.
Investigation and community impact
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson encouraged people to make safety a priority on Juneteenth and Father’s Day over the holiday weekend, according to USA Today, and an email to the mayor’s office was not immediately returned.
“Only a few hours after a shooter opened fire through the windows of a Minneapolis Catholic church, killing two children and wounding 17 people, hundreds of residents gathered in the gymnasium of a nearby school, huddling together and wiping away tears at a vigil beside Governor Tim Walz and members of the clergy”
The incident unfolded as officers initially responded to a single call reporting one person shot, but later found additional victims, including a woman with two gunshot wounds to her back and a man with four graze wounds to his back, police said.
Authorities said the scale of the shooting only became clear after officers responded, and the Sunday Guardian reported that detectives later launched a broader investigation into the attack.
The Sunday Guardian also said the shooting was part of a broader wave of violence across Chicago, where at least 21 people were shot and four killed since Friday evening.
In the same reporting, Pastor Donovan Price described the timing as heartbreaking, saying, "It should be celebrating," and "Fireworks should not turn into gunshots."
