At least 20 people were shot, one fatally, in a suburban town about 20 miles northwest of Chicago early Sunday morning.
The mass shooting took place in a parking lot in a strip mall in the town of Willowbrook shortly before 12:30 am, Battalion Chief Joe Ostrander with the Tri-State Fire Protection District told WGN, a Chicago-area news station.
Twelve victims injured in the shooting were taken to local hospitals, seven were treated and released while five remain hospitalized, two in critical condition Sunday morning, NBC Chicago reported.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration,” witness Markeshia Avery told WGN. “We just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down.”
More than five area police districts were involved in the response to the shooting, officials told WGN. It was not clear Sunday morning how many shooters were involved or the motivation for the attack.
Deputies were in an area near the intersection of Honeysuckle Rose Lane and Route 83 when they heard multiple gunshots, NBC Chicago reported.
There have been 310 mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun violence. The archive describes a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are killed or injured, not including the shooter.
Contributing: Associated Press
