One killed, four wounded in Back of the Yards mass shooting; two charged after crowd fights with police at scene
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men are facing criminal charges after a hostile crowd fought with Chicago police officers who were responding to a mass shooting Tuesday afternoon in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
Police have said five people were standing outside near the intersection of 48th and Ada streets around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, when a stolen red Mazda pulled up, and an unspecified number of people got out, pulled out guns, and shot them all.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said the shooting was the result of an ongoing gang conflict in the area. Gang members in the Mazda spotted members of a rival gang on the street, and the two groups started exchanging gunfire.
A 19-year-old man was shot in the left side of his body and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 16-year-old boy was shot in the left shoulder, arm, face, and ankle and was reported in critical condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center. An 18-year-old man was shot in the right hip and left knee and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition. Another 18-year-old man was shot in the right leg and was taken to the U of C Medical Center in good condition. Another 16-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the right ankle and refused medical attention.
At the scene, officers immediately began performing lifesaving measures on the victims -- only two from a hostile crowd to come up and begin fighting with the officers, Jerome said.
Officers called for emergency backup so that order could be restored.
Two people were arrested for fighting with officers at the scene. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said gang members at the scene started fighting with police responding to the shooting.
Mario Sanders, 20, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and two misdemeanor counts of resisting police. Police said he shoved an on-duty officer to the ground and punched another officer in the face.
Mitchell Rosas, 42, who lives on the same block as the shooting, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting police. Police said Rosas tried to prevent officers at the scene from providing medical assistance to the victims and beginning an investigation of the shooting and ignored multiple commands from police to leave the scene.
Brown said Sanders and Rosas are rival gang members who both have previous felony convictions.
Meanwhile, the shooters fled the scene in the red Mazda, which ended up crashing three city blocks to the west at 48th Street and Marshfield Avenue. Video from Chopper 2 showed the car up on the sidewalk after crashing into a fence, and a long gun on top of it.
Jerome said three guns were recovered – two in the car and one at the scene.
A SWAT team was called to search for the shooting suspects, but they were able to escape.
The scene was even too dangerous for CBS 2's Asal Rezaei and her crew to stick around. They heard several gunshots while gathering video there in broad daylight Tuesday.
At one point the captain of the SWAT team came up and told news crews to take cover.
Jerome said the shooting is likely the result of a historic gang feud, and the gang members involved are not targeting the community.