Chicago dispatching mental health professionals instead of cops a 'bad idea': Napolitano
Alderman Anthony Napolitano with reaction to Windy City police officers being replaced on 911 calls.
A drive-by shooting targeting a party bus in Chicago late last night has left eight people injured in what was the third mass attack in the city in a span of six hours, police say.
The gunfire unfolded hours after a pair of shootings happened within minutes of each other in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood, killing a 15-year-old boy who was hit in the head and wounding nine others, according to Fox32 Chicago.
"We are experiencing drive-by shootings much more than we have seen in the last several decades. In the 80s and 90s we experienced a similar phenomena of drive-by shootings. We are starting to see that phenomena tragically reappear," Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters Thursday.
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"I think it’s not an exaggeration to say we are in a battle for the heart and soul of some of these communities as it relates to violence," he added.
Five people were struck in each of the first two shootings and it is not immediately clear if they are connected. One of them happened near an elementary school and two of the victims are currently in critical condition, police said Thursday.
In the third shooting involving the party bus, which occurred just before midnight as it was stopping to use a gas station bathroom in Lincoln Park, three vehicles pulled up and started opening fire, police say.
The victims in the attack ranged in age from 23 to 52, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. They are currently in good to critical conditions at local hospitals and one of them was an unintended target, police say.
They were struck in areas including the chest, leg and groin, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
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No one is in custody in connection to any of the three shootings and police are reviewing surveillance footage in hopes of tracking down the suspects.
Across the city of Chicago, a total of 28 people were reported injured in shooting incidents on Wednesday, including the three mentioned above.
