Chicago Halloween party shooting leaves 15 wounded – NBC Chicago

At least 15 people were injured in a mass shooting at a Halloween party in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood on Sunday morning, authorities said.

Officers with the Chicago Police Department were called to the 1200 block of South Pulaski at approximately 1:04 a.m. Sunday for reports of shots fired, according to a statement from law enforcement.

When responding units arrived, officers reportedly observed a suspect firing shots into a building where a large gathering of around 100 people was taking place. The suspect fled the scene and was taken into custody nearby in the 4000 block of 14th Street, William Betancourt, CPD’s 10th District commander, said at a news conference.

A total of people sustained gunshot wounds during the attack, police said. A 26-year-old woman was among the victims, shot in the left hip and right buttocks. She was transported to an area hospital in critical condition, police said.

A second victim, a 48-year-old man, was shot in both legs and hips, and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Other victims, ranging between 26 and 53 years old were all listed in good-to-fair condition at area hospitals with a variety of injuries, police said. While there has not been a motive established for the shooting, police officials said the suspect had been ejected from the party and later returned with a gun.

The suspect had yet to be named as of Sunday afternoon, and charges hadn’t been filed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. The location where the gathering took place has a history of hosting unsanctioned events, Betancourt said.

The site is licensed as an art gallery, but parties, like the one that occurred Sunday morning, aren’t sanctioned under that license, the CPD commander explained. Once CPD detectives complete the investigation into the shooting, Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection will investigate and “take action as needed.”

If violations are found, the department will not hesitate to issue various types of enforcement actions, said Ivan Capifali, BACP first deputy commissioner.

“We simply can not let bad operators put the well being of Chicagoans at risk,” he said.

Betancourt said a previous event, which took place at the location on May 6, was quickly shut down after city officials learned about it.

“This one was all done by word of mouth so we were not aware we were caught off guard,” the CPD commander explained.