River Oaks Center Reopens After Drive-By Shooting Injures Two Teens In Calumet City
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Extra security was in place Friday morning at the River Oaks Center shopping mall, after two teenagers were wounded in a drive-by shooting Thursday evening outside the Macy's.
A 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old woman were both injured in that shooting around 6 p.m. Thursday in the Macy's parking lot.
"I'm doing make up for one of my clients, and all you hear is, 'Pow pow pow,'" said Joy Watson, who works at Macy's.
The victims were in serious condition Friday morning at area hospitals.
The mall was shut down after the shooting, and reopened at its normal time at 10 a.m. Friday.
"All we heard was just a gunshot," said mall employee Sheritta Glober. "And a few minutes later we saw a girl running, and it looks like she's been hit in her leg. She was dripping blood."
Calumet City police said investigators believe the shooting was not a random act of violence and wasn't tied to the mall in any way.
Bishop Renaldo Kyles, pastor of Kingdom Builders Church in Calumet City, said he's going to work to find a solution to the gun violence in his hometown.
"I have an 18-year-old daughter myself. I pastor young people from this community, so I'm very concerned," he said. "So I'm going to be reaching out to the mayor and the chief of police to see really what's going on, and what we can do help end this violence that's taking place in Calumet City."
No one was in custody for the shooting as of Friday morning.
Namdar Realty, the New York-based company that owns the mall, has not responded to attempts to reach them about whether they have a long-term plan to keep shoppers safe in the wake of the shooting.