Six Flags shooting: At least three people shot by gunman at Chicago amusement park
At least three people were shot outside the Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Illinois on Sunday evening.
The shots were fired from a single vehicle in the parking lot, which immediately drove away, according to park officials.
Two of the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital while the third person reportedly refused to accept medical attention.
“Park security and on-site Gurnee Police Department Substation officers responded immediately. Law enforcement is investigating,” Six Flags said in a statement.
The Gurnee police identified two of the victims as a 17-year-old boy from Aurora, Illinois, who suffered a gunshot wound in his upper thigh, and a 19-year-old woman from Appleton who was also treated for a leg wound.
The names of the two teens have not been released by authorities, but the pair were both treated with non-life-threatening injuries at Advocate Condell Medical Center.
The shooting prompted a heavy police deployment at the park and led to chaos among the visitors. The park was closed early on Sunday after the incident.
The Gurnee police officers said there was no indication that the shooting was an “active shooter incident” and they have been receiving assistance from the Lake County sheriff’s office, along with officers from other nearby regions of the northern Chicago metropolitan area.
Video circulating on social media showed visitors running to find shelter inside the park.
Shooting at six flags wtf.
The horror of the families and kids hiding in the bathroom with us. I hope nobody experiences this fear ever. Everybody I hope you are safe. #PrayTogether #sixflags #shooting pic.twitter.com/lVyHa4HuQA— PAULINA PALERMO (@paulinapalermo) August 15, 2022
“The horror of the families and kids hiding in the bathroom with us,” wrote Paulina Palermo on Twitter. “I hope nobody experiences this fear ever. Everybody I hope you are safe.”
A video shared on social media purported to show people climbing through barbed wire to flee the amusement park.
Holy shit. This is the six flags in Gurnee Illinois. My friend just sent me another video of inside the park and people were climbing through barbed wire to escape pic.twitter.com/IrwL0diuju
— crippling icicle (@TurtlesInARace) August 15, 2022
“I thought there were fireworks right away. Then we saw hundreds of people running,” Charlie Donda, who ran with his friends to the water park to hide, told CBS News.
“It was pretty scary but we are safe.”
Oh you know just another night in America where families at Six Flags in Gurnee, Illinois are hiding during a shooting pic.twitter.com/yjynHwZElj
— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) August 15, 2022
something definitely happened pic.twitter.com/6yzx9iLzmG
— jack (@babushkakov) August 15, 2022
Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, in a statement, said that she was “heartbroken to hear about the shooting”.
“My staff and I are actively monitoring the situation and are in communication with law enforcement,” she added while thanking the first responders.
Thank you to the first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to help those in need. My thoughts are with everyone who was impacted by today’s senseless act of violence. Our country's gun violence has touched too many of us — enough is enough. (2/2)
— Rep. Lauren Underwood (@RepUnderwood) August 15, 2022
“Our country’s gun violence has touched too many of us — enough is enough.”
