2 dead and 7 injured in shooting at Chicago park
Two people were killed and seven others injured after a shooting broke out Tuesday evening at Chicago's Washington Park following an altercation between two groups, police said.
Shots were reported at 7:46 p.m. local time in the 500 block of East 51st Street on the city's South Side.
Chicago Police Deputy Chief Fred Melean said in an evening news briefing that two groups got into a “verbal altercation” and fired shots at each other.
A 43-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead shortly after, police said.
In an update early Wednesday morning, police said a 20-year-old man who had "multiple gunshot wounds to the body" later died in the hospital.
Authorities said all those involved in the violence were adults.
The wounded include: a 30-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the left shin, a 39-year-old man shot in the right ankle, a 27-year-old woman shot in the upper left thigh, a 22-year-old man suffering two gunshot wounds to the left elbow, and a 19-year-old man shot in the upper right shoulder. All of the survivors were hospitalized and in good condition.
Police later said two more injured victims — a 33-year-old woman who sustained a graze wound to the upper arm and a 46-year-old man who had a graze wound to the right calf — had self-transported to the hospital in good condition.
The shooting, which unfolded near the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood, remains under investigation.
During the news conference, Melean was asked if the groups were playing baseball on the field in the park, but he said it wasn’t clear. Witnesses told NBC Chicago a group was having a barbecue in the park when shots rang out.
Police are offering a $15,000 reward for information in connection with the shooting.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
