1 Dead, At Least 10 Wounded In South Suburban House Party Shooting

By Jon Graef in News on Dec 21, 2014 7:15PM

A shooting at a house party in south suburban Calumet City has left anywhere from 5 to 10 people wounded and one person dead, according to area police.

Local authorities said to ABC 7 that 19-year-old Dewayne Purnell was shot and killed after an argument occurred at the party.

The Sun-Times said the shooting took place early Sunday morning at about 1:50 a.m.

ABC 7 also spoke to victim's father, who said his son was visiting a friend while on military leave:

Donald Purnell, the victim's father, said he never lets his son go out but allowed him to visit a friend Saturday night because he was leaving for the military in nine days.

"He was in the house all the time, they were putting up the Christmas tree yesterday, he and his sister and my wife," Purnell said. "I let him go out one time and this is what I get."

WGN notes that there were 100 to 150 people, apparently ranging from 15 to 21, in the house at the time of the shooting. The party's attendees were "smoking marijuana [and] drinking alcohol" at that there were also stripper poles in the home, according to witnesses who spoke to WGN.

One reason why the exact number of people shot has yet to be confirmed is because "not all of those wounded were transported to a hospital by ambulance," according to what Calumet City Police Chief Edward Gilmore told the Chicago Tribune.

Gilmore said to the Tribune that the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force would be investigating the shooting and that no one was in custody as of yet. The Sun-Times reported an autopsy for Dewayne Purnell was scheduled for Sunday.