One of two women injured in a shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field during Friday night's White Sox game against the Oakland Athletics was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, a statement from CPS confirmed.
“We can confirm that a Chicago Public Schools teacher was injured Friday night while at the White Sox game. On behalf of the entire CPS community, we wish our staff member a speedy recovery," a statement from CPS said.
According to police, two women were injured during the incident, which took place during the fourth inning. One of those injured, a 42-year-old woman, suffered a gunshot wound the leg, police said. The other woman, 26, suffered a graze wound to the abdomen.
Officials have not confirmed which of the victims was a CPS teacher.
Tuesday, a lawyer for the woman shot in the leg denied reports which stated she had brought a firearm into the park and accidentally fired it while in her seat.
The woman's attorney said that her injuries have been reviewed by "firearms and medical experts who confirm the gunshot wound our client sustained was not self-inflicted and was not the result of her accidentally discharging a firearm."
Lawyers for that woman said she is a White Sox season ticket holder. According to a police source, she is also a FOID card holder.
Local
The woman has not been charged with a crime.
The incident remains under investigation
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Officials have said little about where the bullets came from, or if someone brought a gun into the stadium. But Chicago's Interim Police Supt. Fred Waller said during a brief media availability Monday that investigators have nearly "dispelled" the possibility that the shots came from outside the ballpark.
According to NBC 5 Investigates, CPD has declined to release the initial police report, a document that is typically public information. And, while the post-game concert featuring Vanilla Ice was canceled due to "technical difficulties," the game carried on as scheduled.
Waller said the police department initially requested that the game be halted after the shooting was discovered.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was made aware of the shooting shortly after it occurred Friday, but he declined to say whether he was part of the decision to allow the game to continue or whether in hindsight that was the right choice.
“Obviously, this is an ongoing investigation and the Chicago Police Department has done a remarkable job of gathering all the evidence and as more information becomes available, that information will be reported,” Johnson said.
Police said it was largely "because initially, no one knew that anyone was shot."
"We didn't have an indication. No one flared up. No flare from a weapon. None of that. So we didn't know she was shot until the paramedics gave us the information that she was shot," Waller said Monday.
"We had reports of people being shot at, at Sox Park, but that wasn't confirmed. So, we allowed the game to continue not to create a panic," he added.
The White Sox said CPD has "complete authority" to determine "if anything is deemed to put public safety at risk."
"Upon receiving notification of this incident, CPD responded immediately and deployed additional resources while coordinating with White Sox security to maintain the safety of those who were in attendance or working at the game," police said in a statement.
Police and city officials have declined to release the initial police report or answer further questions on the incident that left two people hurt, saying it remains under investigation.
What witnesses reported
“People were going in and out of the section like nothing happened," said Jennifer Yolich, who was a few rows away from the incident. She told NBC 5 reporter Courtney Sisk her friend found a bullet in her sweatshirt.
“It was stuck in the back of her hoodie, like how does that happen? It just flew," she said.
For Yolich, the strangest part was the lack of awareness to the incident.
“If someone got shot, I mean you should probably evacuate right? Nothing was done," Yolich said. "The fans didn’t know what happened, the staff didn’t know what happened, I’m sure the players didn’t know what happened. It kind of puts everyone at risk.”
In an interview with NBC 5 Investigates, Dr. Jeanne Farnan, who was sitting in the center field bleachers, said she treated a woman with an obvious wound to her leg. A few seats below that, she found another victim with a graze wound to her stomach.
“I asked her where she was hurt, and she lifted her shirt up and she had what looked to be a cigar burn on her abdomen .. someone had put a towel on it and I walked her back over to where the first woman was," Farnan said.
Farnan also told NBC 5 Investigates that someone showed her a bullet, which she handed over to White Sox security.
