Nov. 1 (UPI) — As many as 14 people were shot, including children, during a drive-by shooting in the city of Chicago on Halloween night, authorities said.
Chicago Police Superintendent David O’Neal Brown told reporters in a press briefing that the incident happened at about 9:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of California and Polk in the city’s Garfield Park neighborhood.
The victims sustained a range of injuries from non-life-threatening to critical, he said, stating they have all been transferred to various hospitals.
While the majority of the victims were adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s, one was identified as 3-years-old, another 11 and a third minor as 13.
No fatalities were reported.
He said some in the crowd were at the corner to attend a vigil for a person who died of unrelated reasons but that others were there as it is a common congregation point in the neighborhood.
Footage obtained of the shooting shows that one car drove up on the crowd with two people inside the vehicle opening fire at random, he said, adding that the information was preliminary.
“We don’t have any motive. We don’t have an offender identified. We don’t have any conflicts on this corner where it happened,” he said. “But detectives are on the ground.”
Officers were waiting to speak with victims to gather more information, he said.
Brown said another person at the scene was hit be a car. Their condition was unknown.
Asked if this shooting ranked among the worst in Chicago’s history, Brown said he is not interesting in looking at it from a historical perspective, stating that for each victim’s family, one person shot “is the worst.”
“Right now people are in there getting treated, some may be fighting for their lives,” he said. “I’m just saying let’s right now treat this in the most urgent way. We’re trying to find an offender.”
Brown said anyone with information about the shooting should contact the authorities. A reward of up to $15,000 is available for information that leads to charges.
Extra police resources have been deployed to prevent possible retaliation in case the shooting was gang related, he said.
