Fourteen people were shot and wounded in a barrage of gunfire at a Chicago funeral Tuesday, with police now combing the neighborhood for suspects.
At least 60 casings were recovered from the scene at 79th Street and Carpenter Street in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, where the exchange of fire erupted shortly before 7:30 p.m., police said.
First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said the shooting started when a black car passed by the funeral and opened fire on the mourners, several of whom returned fire to the vehicle.
“At that time, the vehicle mid-block crashed and stopped,” Carter told reporters.
“The occupants of the vehicle went out in multiple directions and fled. We currently have a person of interest interviewed by our detective in the area. ”
“There are 14 victims being treated in five area hospitals,” he said. “Conditions are unknown at this time.”
Police did not release details of the funeral and said the investigation is ongoing.
“Detectives are currently going to be on the lookout for the rest of this afternoon and early tomorrow,” Carter said. “We hope that the community, if you have any video or someone who knows anything, will assist detectives in their scrutiny and offer any information that will help solve this crime.”
Carter said there had been a Chicago police car at the funeral “as a precautionary measure.”
The shooting comes as the Windy City continues to be plagued by a flurry of gunfire.
Police said 25 people were shot Monday, four of them fatally. That followed a weekend that saw 63 shooting victims and 12 people shot dead.
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