Despite strict gun laws, the Chicago area saw three mass shootings during celebrations of Juneteenth, a holiday that recognizes the day the last slaves were freed in the South.
In one case, a parking lot party in the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook left 28 people injured and one dead.
Reginald Meadows, 31, was identified as the only person killed, thus far.
FACT-O-RAMA! Chicago saw a total of 11 people killed and 53 people wounded this past Father’s Day weekend, making it the worst Father’s Day weekend since 2020. These weekend stats do not include the Willowbrook shooting.
What started as a peaceful party began to turn violent shortly after midnight. There were a couple of fights between young women but police do not believe that was related to the gunfire. Local police were on hand before the shooting occurred to keep the peace but were called away to break up a nearby fight. When they were gone, chaos erupted.
“Since Juneteenth has come about, we’ve been celebrating,” resident Nayetta Reed told The Chicago Sun-Times. “And usually the sheriffs are out here with us. It’s very controlled, it’s peaceful. I don’t know what happened. I really don’t know what happened last night. It just went left.”
Democrats celebrated Juneteenth in Chicagoland by shooting 28 people 1 fatally at a shopping center in Willowbrook, Illinois https://t.co/LsELrggdbv
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) June 19, 2023
Reed also suggested there were between 200 and 300 people at the party, making it the largest Juneteenth celebration they’ve seen at this specific lot.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration,” Markeshia Avery revealed to WLS-TV. “We just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down until they stopped. They just kept going. After that, we literally scattered away.”
MATH-O-RAMA! If 29 people were shot at a party of almost 300 people, that means roughly 10% of the party-goers were hit by bullets.
The Willowbrook shooting is one of eight mass shootings to take place Sunday. Two other mass shootings — defined as four or more people shot in a fluid situation, not counting the shooter — occurred in Chicago, leaving three dead and six injured.
Detroit, St. Louis, Decatur, Ga., Greenville, N.C., and Kellogg, Idaho, saw one mass shooting each. The shooting in Idaho was the deadliest, with four people killed.
Sunday’s nationwide mass shooting total: 10 killed and 51 injured.
In a surprising move, the White House — not usually willing to even acknowledge black crime — released a statement:
The President and First Lady are thinking of those killed and injured in the shooting in Illinois last night. We have reached out to offer assistance to state and local leaders in the wake of this tragedy at a community Juneteenth celebration.
This statement is unique because the White House has rarely — if ever — acknowledged the “festival of lead” Chicago experiences every week, especially in the summer when gun violence skyrockets.
Police have no motive or suspects thus far. They will continue to investigate.
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