WILLOWBROOK, Illinois (WLS) — At least 20 people were shot, one of them fatally, in the southwest suburb of Willowbrook early Sunday morning, fire officials said.
Battalion Chief Joe Ostrander of the Tri-State Fire Protection District said the shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. on Route 83 near Honeysuckle Rose Lane. A large group gathered in a shopping center parking lot for a Juneteenth celebration that turned violent, witnesses said.
Firefighters said at least 10 were shot down.
An official with the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday morning that 20 people had been shot, one fatally.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration; we just started hearing gunshots, so we just kind of dropped it until they stopped. They just kept going. After that, we literally scattered,” Markeshia Avery said.
Two of those shot are in critical condition, while others suffered what firefighters are calling “scrape injuries.”
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“We were all outside and the next thing you know, the shooting continued, everyone ran, and it was chaos,” another witness said.
The victims were taken to hospitals in DuPage, Cook and Will counties.
“I saw they had policemen set up at every entrance like this – I just got home. Now they have the whole place taped off,” said witness Kyria.
A massive police presence remained at the scene investigating around 9am, and debris could be seen covering the ground after the incident.
“We just heard gunshots; at first it was one shot, but then it was a bunch of shots. Then we started running like, ‘I’. I looked at my friend and we took off running like crazy,” said the witness Zaviar Sheikh.
The sheriff’s office asked that anyone with information call 630-407-2400.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, said in a statement:
“It hurts me to watch the news from Willowbrook this morning. We live in a tragic reality where you can’t go to school, go to the grocery store, go to your place of worship, or celebrate holidays like the 4th of July or the of June. without fear of being shot. Change is needed, we cannot allow this to be the status quo.
“I am grateful to the first responders who attended to the victims last night and will continue to work with local authorities to stay abreast of the situation.”
