15 injured in shooting spree at US funeral
Chicago Police officers investigate the scene of a shooting in Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday. A shootout outside a funeral left 14 people wounded on Tuesday in Chicago, as President Donald Trump threatens to send federal agents to a handful of US cities led by Democratic mayors.
Fifteen people were injured, one person was being questioned and multiple suspects were being sought after gunfire erupted outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side where at least one squad car was present, police said.
First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said mourners outside a funeral home in the Gresham neighborhood were fired upon on Tuesday from a passing vehicle.
He said several targets of the shooting returned fire. The vehicle later crashed and the occupants fled in several directions. All the victims were adults.
A person of interest was being questioned on Tuesday night but no arrests had been made, said police spokesman Hector Alfaro.
The shooting comes as the Department of Homeland Security is planning to deploy dozens of federal agents to Chicago to deal with an uptick in violent crime in the city.
Most victims were taken by the Chicago Fire Department to nearby hospitals in serious condition, said spokesman Larry Langford. They include 10 women from the ages of 21 to 65.
Police said the shooting happened at or near the site of a funeral or post-funeral event for a man fatally shot last week in the Englewood neighborhood.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a series of Tweets on Tuesday “far too many people” have attended funerals and attempted to begin the process of healing entire communities following another “senseless tragedy.”
