10 People Shot, 2 Fatally, In 'Brazen' Shooting At Memorial In Brighton Park
By Stephen Gossett in News on May 8, 2017 3:13PM
A man and woman were killed, and eight more people were wounded, when gunmen opened fire in a brazen mass shooting on a crowd that had gathered at a memorial in Brighton Park. Police believe the shooting may have been a gang-related retaliation from an earlier shooting.
A group of people were gathered at "an improvised shrine" in the 4600 block of South Rockwell Street on Sunday, at around 5:20 p.m., when two masked shooters appeared from an alley and opened fire with rifles, according to police. Police believe the gunmen fled in a light-colored SUV or van. No suspects were in custody as of Monday morning.
The ages of the fatalities were not available. The injured victims: a 25-year-old man was shot in the right leg and is in fair condition at Cook County Hospital; a 22-year-old man was shot in both legs and an arm and is serious condition at Cook County Hospital; a 25-year-old man was shot in the right leg and is serious condition at Cook County Hospital; an 18-year-old woman was grazed in the shin and was in good condition at Saint Anthony’s Hospital; a man, 26, was shot in the hip and and elbow and is in serious condition at Mount Sinai Hospital; and a man, 31, is in serious condition at Sinai with a gunshot wound to the leg.
The victims were believed to be attending a makeshift memorial for Daniel Cardova, 26, who was fatally shot on Sunday, at around 4:30 a.m.
"We had another brazen act of gun violence on the streets of Chicago," said Deputy Supt. Kevin Navarro at a press conference over the weekend. Teams of tactical officers and gang units were sent to the area and surrounding portions following the shooting, according to police.
"I'm thankful because today no innocent lives were lost," said Ald. Raymond Lopez (Ward 15), a statement which some found controversial given the nature of the attack.
"The wake-up call has been here. It's time for us to act," Lopez added. "It's time for each and every one of us to start looking at what's going on our block identifying who is a gang member, who's selling drugs and who is supporting them in our communities."
Two tactical-unit plainclothes officers were shot by gunmen with rifles in the nearby Back of the Yards neighborhood just five days earlier.