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A horrific shootout outside a funeral home on Chicago‘s South Side Tuesday night wounded at least 14 people, police said, in the latest chapter of violence gripping the big city.
“All we saw was just bodies laying everywhere,” witness Arnita Gerder told WMAQ. “Shot up everywhere, all over. Legs, stomach, back, all over the place. We thought it was a war out here.”
An SUV was traveling on 79th Street around 7:30 p.m. when people inside opened fire on funeral attendees, the Chicago Police Department’s First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter said during a news briefing.
The attendees exchanged gunfire with the vehicle, which sped off before crashing a short distance later. The people inside that vehicle ran off, Carter said.
Police were interviewing one person of interest, but the shooters were not immediately known, Carter said. The victims — all adults — were taken to five separate hospitals. At least nine were listed in serious condition, the Chicago Fire Department told local media. The person in custody was not injured during the incident, according to Carter.
No other information about the victims was available.
Officers found some 60 shell casings at the scene. It was not known if the two groups had interacted with each other prior to the shooting or if the gunfight was gang-related.
“We saw a car with about six bullet holes in it and it was turned facing the grass like he lost control. We saw a hat down on the ground and evidently it was his,” Kenneth Hughes, told WMAQ.
Carter noted that a police vehicle was assigned to the funeral as a precaution because of the size of the gathering.
The shooting came a day after more than 20 people were shot Monday and after a deadly weekend in which 63 people were shot and 12 were killed.
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On Monday, President Trump vowed to send federal forces into the city amid a spike in violent crime. Local leaders have pushed back on the plan, arguing it exceeds the authority of the federal government.
The Department of Homeland Security is planning to deploy dozens of federal agents to Chicago to deal with the uptick in violent crime. In a tweet Tuesday night, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made her stance clear.
“Under no circumstances will I allow Donald Trump’s troops to come to Chicago and terrorize our residents,” she wrote.
