One person was killed and 14 were wounded when masked gunmen opened fire on a party in Washington Park late Saturday in the largest mass shooting Chicago this year, according to a Sun-Times analysis of police data.
The gunfire took place around 11:30 p.m. as officers tried to disperse a large crowd gathered on the east edge of the park in the 5400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, the police department said.
The officers saw “people running in many directions” and noticed that some had been wounded in the shooting, according to a police report.
A witness told police that two males wearing black clothing and ski masks fired into the park from Cottage Grove Avenue, striking the victims, another police report says. Someone from the gathering fired back at the gunmen, who fled the area.
At least 36 shell casings were found on Cottage Grove Avenue and inside the park, including casings from a rifle, according to the report. A weapon was also recovered.
A 35-year-old man was shot six times and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died, according to the report and the police statement. He hasn’t been formally identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Jeanette Moore, 45, was among the wounded.
Moore told the Sun-Times she was at a reunion picnic for people who grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, the public housing project on the South Side that operated from the 1960s until it was demolished in the 2000s. She said people were standing around in different groups catching up when she heard the gunshots.
“I didn’t see anything, I just heard shooting and started running,” Moore said. “Chaos, running, screaming. … It wasn’t a rowdy gathering or nothing like that, it was a community.”
Moore said the reunion was a 30-year tradition that was “definitely ruined” after the violence.
“I won’t be a part of that because you don’t know the mindsets of these people that’s doing this,” she said. “Everybody’s just really traumatized.”
Moore said she was recovering at home in good condition.
A 47-year-old woman was listed in serious condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Four other women — ages 21, 23 and 43 and 44 — were in fair condition at University of Chicago according to police.
Five other victims — three men and three women, with ages ranging from 26 to 42 — were all in good condition at the University of Chicago and Stroger Hospital, police said in a statement. Authorities did not know the condition of the three remaining victims — ages 23, 35 and 37 — nor the hospital or hospitals they were taken to.
No arrests have been announced.
By early Sunday evening, the area had been cleared of evidence markers, though a few remnants of police crime scene tape remained. In the park, people gathered near a bounce house, braving the drizzly weather.
Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for the mass shooting. Tipsters can call 1-800-535-7867 or visit CPDTIP.com.