6 Wounded After Shooter Opens Fire On Large Crowd In East Garfield Park
CHICAGO (CBS)-- There was yet another mass shooting on Chicago's streets overnight Saturday into Sunday – the third now in a period of about a week.
As CBS 2's Jeremy Ross reported Sunday, the shooting came as police reported they are dealing with escalating arsenals of artillery on the streets.
Police were called at 2:47 a.m. Sunday for the latest shooting in the 3500 block of West Lake Street, near St. Louis Avenue, in the West Side's East Garfield Park neighborhood.
According to police, the victims were among over 100 people attending a street party. Police said several altercations occurred at the gathering.
"They hang out, have some drinks – that's what they do," a witness said.
Discarded liquor boxes and bottles remained lying around the block in the shadow of the Green Line 'L' trestle several hours later. One local bar owner picked up the litter in the afternoon.
"I clean up, my neighbor cleans up," he said.
The bar owner, who did not want his face shown or name used, said what was left behind at the scene was part of a party that someone with a gun violently crashed.
"It's unbelievable," he said.
Six people were struck by gunfire, Police said the bullets hit a 25-year-old man and five women between 27 and 38 years old.
At least two people fired back at the gunman, police said.
Police also said someone may have also been shooting from an aqua colored sedan, CBS 2's Vi Nguyen reported.
"It's going on all over the city of Chicago," said Gerard Moorer, who lives nearby. "The guys out here hanging out are harmless. Now the guy who was the shooter – that's a whole different story."
Moorer said such violence is preventing the neighborhood from improving.
"If we want people to invest in the community, they don't want to invest in a place where people don't want to come," he said.
The bar owner said the impact to his business has been "devastating."
"Nobody comes in," he said. "They're all out here."
Meanwhile Sunday, police tweeted out separate images of weapons they took off the streets. The weapons were confiscated in West Pullman, several miles away from the scene where the mass shooting happened, but still provided an insight into what police are dealing with.
One of the firearms they confiscated was a high-capacity ammunition drum that is capable of holding upwards of 100 rounds.
"It's the same experience that people face when they're at war," Moorer said.
For now, the bar owner expressed hope there would be less crime tape among the debris as he cleaned up his street.
"These streets were clean in the morning," he said.
Police on Sunday afternoon continued to investigate the latest incident.
Since Friday evening, there have been at least 45 total shooting victims citywide – 41 wounded and two dead.
