One person was killed and three wounded in a “targeted” attack in Rogers Park on Sunday afternoon.
The victims were standing in Pottawattomie Park in the 7300 block of North Rogers Avenue about 3 p.m. when two people walked into the park and fired in their direction, police said.
Keyonce Gladney, 19 and of Minnesota, was shot in the chest was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where she later died, police said.
Two other victims were also taken to Saint Francis in good condition: a 20-year-old man who was shot in the forehead and a 19-year-old man who was shot in the left hip.
A 22-year-old woman was shot in the right foot. She was taken to Swedish Hospital in good condition. Witnesses at the scene said the woman ran to a fire station around the corner for help after the shooting. Blood remained on the pavement outside the station Sunday night.
The attackers fled the scene north on Winchester Avenue, police said. No one is in custody.
In a statement Sunday, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) called the shooting “targeted.” She also said the three who were injured didn’t have “life-threatening injuries.”
“Our condolences go to the family of the deceased,” Hadden wrote.
The park remained open, with teens playing basketball and children running around a playground just feet away from yellow police tape as investigators worked the scene.
Neighbors told a Sun-Times reporter at the scene that the park is usually full of families with children.
That’s how Paul Cantrell described the park, which is just steps away from the door to his building. Cantrell was sitting on his sofa in his apartment when he said he heard around 13 shots and saw people running.
“It didn’t sound like an automatic weapon, but they were in rapid succession,” Cantrell said of the shots. “It was enough to get me off my sofa.”
Cantrell said he’s heard gunshots in the area in the past, but they always seemed to be far away from his apartment. “It’s never this close, and it was a lot of gunfire,” he said of Sunday’s shooting.
“It’s a little unnerving because it’s a children’s park,” Cantrell added. “It’s just disconcerting and kind of ominous that it’s that close to home.”
A woman, who asked not to be named, said she frequently comes to the park with her children, but incidents like this “make you afraid to come and play with your kids.”
Gus Munsen, who has lived in the area for about a year, said that even though he generally feels safe, he is always aware of his surroundings because it seems like no place in the city is safe from gun violence.
“Even in the suburbs there’s random shootings, so in my mind everyone should keep their eyes open,” he said.
The shooting comes just days after a 14- and 17-year-old were charged with killing a Senn High School student and injuring two others in an attack Jan. 31. Police say the younger boy got out of a car and fired 15 shots at the three students who were walking home from school.
Both face first-degree murder and attempted murder charges, and the younger boy also faces an aggravated battery charge.
