A gunman is in custody after wounding 15 people while shooting into a crowd at a gathering early Sunday in the North Lawndale neighborhood, police said.
The man fired shots into a crowd of people gathered at 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Pulaski Road, Chicago police said.
He fled on foot and was arrested nearby, police said. Officers recovered a handgun.
The victims were between 26 to 53 years old. Six were women and nine were men.
Two of them were listed in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital: a 26-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man, police said.
The others were in good condition at various hospitals.
A witness told reporters a man opened fire after security did not allow him back into the gathering.
Andre Williams, one of the performers at the party, said around 100 people were at the party at Studio 1258 when the man argued with security and started firing.
“He came back and put his arm through the door and started shooting,” Williams told Network Video Productions Inc., which shared video of the interview that was aired on several Chicago television news stations.
Police radio transmissions describe a chaotic scene where many victims took themselves to hospitals as officers arrived and struggled to accurately count the number of wounded.
Officers, responding to a ShotSpotter gunshot detection alert, arrived as the gunman was still firing.
“They’re still shooting,” one officer radioed.
The suspect, described to police as a short, bald man, ran south and was arrested near 14th and Pulaski, along with the weapon, according to the transmissions.
The shooting happened in the 10th police District. Reports of shootings in the district have declined 22% over last year, from 179 to 120 through Oct. 22, according to police department statistics. Murders have declined 9% over the same period, from 34 to 31.
