Four people in the United States have been killed and at least 14 others wounded when gunmen opened fire on a crowd outside a lounge in downtown Chicago, according to police.
According to authorities, the mass shooting took place around 11:00pm (04:00 GMT) on Wednesday, when shots were fired from a vehicle travelling along Chicago Avenue in the city’s River North neighbourhood.
Chicago police reported that 13 women and five men, all between the ages of 21 and 32, were struck by the gunfire. Among the dead were two men and two women.
As of Thursday, at least three victims remained in critical condition. The injured were transported to local hospitals.
Police said the driver fled the scene immediately, and no arrests have been made. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling urged the public to submit anonymous tips to help detectives identify the suspects.
Local media reported that rapper Mello Buckzz, also known as Melanie Doyle, was hosting a private event at the lounge Wednesday evening to celebrate the release of her new album.
Snelling said police were trying to determine a motive and that the venue, Artis Lounge, is closed “until we get to the bottom of this”. He did not identify the number of attackers involved in the incident but said police found two different calibres of casings and were still reviewing footage.
“Clearly, there was some target in some way,” Snelling said. “This wasn’t some random shooting.”
Artis Lounge confirmed they were working with authorities as the investigation continued.
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‘I can only describe it as a warzone’
In the hours after the shooting, Buckzz asked for prayers and expressed her anger and sadness on social media.
“My heart broke into so many pieces,” the artist wrote on Instagram Stories.
In her posts, the rapper revealed that many of those injured were her friends, and that she had been in a relationship with one of the men who was killed.
“Prayers up for all my sisters god please wrap yo arms around every last one of them,” Buckzz wrote across several Instagram Story slides. “Feel like everything just weighing down on me … all I can do is talk to god and pray.”
Chicago pastor Donovan Price, who works with communities affected by violence, described the scene as a “warzone”.
“Just mayhem and blood and screaming and confusion as people tried to find their friends and phones. It was a horrendous, tragic, dramatic scene,” he told The Associated Press.
The shooting took place days before the Fourth of July weekend, when Chicago and other major cities often see a surge in gun crimes. In recent years, however, Chicago has seen an overall decrease in gun violence.
During the last Fourth of July weekend in Chicago, more than 100 people were shot, resulting in at least 19 deaths. Mayor Brandon Johnson said at the time that the violence “has left our city in a state of grief”.
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