Police now say gunfire that struck two women at White Sox game may have come from inside ballpark
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police on Monday said the shooting that wounded two women at the White Sox game Friday night likely involved a gun going off inside Guaranteed Rate Field.
But three days later, they don't know for sure.
Meanwhile, although we know that the game was not suspended despite an early request to do so from Chicago Police, the former commander of the Deering (9th) District that includes the ballpark reviewed the case - and said he believes the organization acted appropriately, given the circumstances.
A camera pointed at Section 162 shows the moment in the fourth inning that fans called for help for a 42-year-old woman shot in the leg and a 26-year-old woman grazed in the abdomen.
"Something from inside - it could have happened that way," said police Supt. Fred Waller.
Waller said investigators have nearly ruled out the possibility that the shots came from outside the ballpark, but nothing is confirmed.
Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detective Eugene Roy was commander of the Deering District for five years.
"That's five seasons of baseball," Roy said.
Roy knows Sox security like the back of his hand, and says the magnetometers and the security staff are evaluated yearly on a no-notice basis.
"The chances of somebody getting a weapon into the park - it's possible," Roy said. "But it's not likely."
Based on the ballistic evidence, Roy said he actually thought it was more likely that the bullets traveled a distance from outside the park.
A ShotSpotter alert for nine rounds fired near 300 block of West 42nd Place did come in around the same time – a mile away.
Police late Monday were still investigating, but it wouldn't be the first time the theory on outside gunfire entering the ballpark was tested.
In January 1991, when the new ballpark was still being constructed, bullet holes were found the centerfield scoreboard and in three seats. Chicago Police the shots may have come from nearby Chicago Housing Authority high-rises across the Dan Ryan Expressway.
"There's no reason to believe that it's any more vulnerable than any other sport facility that Chicago or American fans have been attending for a century," then-Gov. James Thompson said at the time.
Roy notes that those high rises are no longer there.
As for why Sox did not suspend the game after the CPD's initial request to do so, Roy believes they made the right move - because an emergency evacuation may have caused more damage.
"An emergency evacuation for 22,000 people in the dark, late in the evening, trying to exceed the capacity of the exits - it could have been a much worse situation," Roy said.
When it comes to that decision to continue the game, the White Sox said the decision was made when it was determined that there was no active threat to other fans.
They also said they are providing additional support for the teacher and the school community.
We reached out again for an update based on the latest from investigators, but late Monday, there had been no response.
