A man with a record of arrests for murder, attempted murder and carjacking was charged Tuesday with opening fire on a West Side Halloween party over the weekend, wounding at least 15 people.
William Groves, 48, faces 15 counts of attempted murder for the attack early Sunday in the 1200 block of South Pulaski Road, Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling said at a news conference with Mayor Brandon Johnson, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, U.S. Rep Danny Davis and Ald. Monique Scott (24th).
Groves was one of about 100 partygoers at Studio 1258, an art gallery that police said has a “history of throwing unlicensed events.” He was ejected from the party after a disturbance then returned with a gun, “firing into the crowd,” Snelling said.
“He is a convicted felon who should not have had a gun,” the superintendent said.
Groves was convicted in 2008 of attempted murder. His record also includes arrests for murder, carjacking, kidnapping and armed robbery, according to court documents.
Judge David Kelly ordered Groves detained in the Cook County Jail while awaiting trial during his initial hearing Tuesday afternoon at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
The judge cited allegations that Groves “fired indiscriminately into the crowd of people there” and that three witnesses to the shooting had identified him as the gunman. His next hearing was set for Nov. 13.
The nine men and six women wounded range in age from 26 to 53, police said. Two people were critically wounded, while the others were listed in good-to-fair condition. Prosecutors said several victims were still hospitalized and facing surgery, including one woman whose hip was “shattered” by one of the gunman’s bullets.
No injuries appear to be life-threatening, officials said Tuesday, and some victims had already been released from hospitals.
“We need to focus on the victims and support for them moving forward,” Snelling said. “To everyone affected by this shooting and to our North Lawndale neighbors, we’re standing with you.”
Chicago police opened a victims’ assistance center from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday at YMEN, 1241 S. Pulaski Road, near the shooting scene.
Johnson, Snelling and Foxx credited partygoers with providing the information needed to make a quick arrest.
“Oftentimes, when incidents like this happen, particularly in a close-knit neighborhood ... people are afraid to speak up,” Foxx said. “Usually, it might take days or weeks for someone to come and say that they’ve seen something.”
“For those residents to work with the 10th District detectives ... is a testament to the community stepping up and advocating on behalf of their city,” Foxx said.
Jasmine Carter attended the party with her sister and cousin. As gunshots rang out, she spotted her sister across the room. “She kept screaming, ‘My leg! My leg!’ She was limping and losing blood,” Carter said.
Carter and a cousin stayed with her sister as she dropped to the floor, while people around them were “running and hitting the floor.”
“Everybody was just screaming, ‘Help! Help!’” she said. “I was scared and mad and screaming for the ambulance. The first ambulance on the scene helped a woman who was inside, near the front door. She was badly hurt.”
Carter’s sister suffered gunshot wounds to her arm, buttocks, back of her knee and her leg. She was among those more seriously hurt.
The shooting took place almost a year after 14 people were shot on Halloween night in East Garfield Park.
“That this has happened this year, when we had a similar incident around this time last year .... This should be shocking to our systems,” Foxx said. “This should shake us to our core.”
Groves was charged with 32 felony counts: 15 counts of attempted murder, 15 counts of aggravated battery, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one count of firing in an occupied building.
How Groves, a convicted felon, was able to get a weapon remains under investigation, police said Tuesday. Police also continue to investigate whether there were additional shooters, Snelling said.
The event space, Studio 1258, will be closed under the city’s summary closure ordinance, which gives the police department the power to immediately shut down businesses associated with violence.
In court Tuesday, prosecutors said a comedian wounded in the attack had rented the space for the party and performances by comedians. Tickets were required for entry, and bartenders and security guards were hired to work the event.
The business previously received a cease-and-desist order and citations for operating without proper licenses, a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection said in a statement.
Foxx said her office will continue to investigate all aspects of the “unsanctioned party.”
