The US is celebrating the Juneteenth holiday. It’s a commemoration of the emancipation proclamation that freed all enslaved people within America. Around 12.30 a.m. on 19th June, gunfire erupted in a large gathering of several hundred people according to Joe Ostrander of the Tri-State Fire Protection District.
The shooting took place in the parking lot of a strip mall in Willowbrook, a place 23 miles West of Chicago according to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.
“An unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd,” said Deputy Chief Eric Swanson of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration; we just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down until they stopped. They just kept going. After that, we literally scattered away,” witness Markeshia Avery told WLS-TV.
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23 people were shot during the eruption. The injured were taken to local hospitals. 1 person was pronounced dead and at least 3 have been identified as critically injured. Apart from people who suffered gunshot wounds, people who were injured trying to flee the venue were also treated and cared for.
This is not the first attack on a Juneteenth gathering. There have been 368 deaths due to gunfire violence over the last week. The death toll is over 99,000 in the last five years. This year alone has seen nearly 36000 deaths by gunfire.
No arrests have been made so far. The detectives are combing through CCTV and cell phone camera footage to find clues.
On Saturday, a shooting broke out at the Beyond Wonderland EDM festival in Washington State. The shooting claimed two lives. On Sunday around 1:43 PM a shooting at St. Lois claimed one life.
