Five people were shot, three fatally, when a shooting erupted early Saturday during an illegal street race in Chicago’s Brighton Park community. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter reports.
Chicago police were called around 4 a.m. Sunday to the city's Brighton Park community for reports of a massive car caravan.
They arrived to find roughly 100 cars and people taking over the intersection of Kedzie and Archer avenues, with drivers drifting and doing donuts.
Then, shots rang out. Five people were injured, three fatally.
“I saw a white van coming, ... and there was nothing but guns coming out the windows, and they started shooting,” witness Darrell Cross said.
Cross said the scene felt like "a war zone."
“I saw three people on the ground, but the roads were blocked in all directions...,” Cross said, in part, explaining it was difficult for officers to get there.
Police are still in the process of the investigation, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.
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“Our initial review shows there was five people involved, and three of those people involved are now deceased,” Chicago Police Commander Don Jerome said. “There is probably one to two people we are looking to speak to.”
Ald. Raymond Lopez, of the city's 15th Ward, is calling for stronger measures to stop the drag racing that has become an issue across the city.
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“An argument between participants of different gangs has led to bloodshed on the streets of Brighton Park,” Lopez said.
Police said the dead and injured are teenagers and in their early 20s. Identities have not been released as of Sunday afternoon. Of the five men shot, two remain in critical condition.
