Attorney: Woman shot at White Sox game denies bringing in gun, having anything to do with discharge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An attorney for a woman who was shot during a White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field last week denied a report that the woman brought the gun into the stadium and accidentally discharged it.
Multiple sources have reported that one of the two women who were shot at the Friday night game had sneaked a gun into the stadium inside her "belly fat." The first such report appeared in the publication Sports Mockery on Monday.
Citing a source, Sports Mockery claimed the woman set off the metal detector three different times. The publication claimed one of the sources assumed security "did not want to overstep their boundaries when further checking the woman's body after the metal detectors continued to go off."
On Tuesday night, attorney John Malm, representing the 42-year-old woman, said his client did not bring the gun into the stadium and had nothing to do with the gunfire:
"Our client underwent emergency medical treatment for a gunshot wound she received while attending a baseball game. She denies bringing a firearm into the stadium and further denies having anything to do with the discharge of a firearm at the stadium. We have reviewed photographic evidence and x-rays of our client's injuries with firearms and medical experts who confirm the gunshot wound our client sustained was not self-inflicted and was not the result of her accidentally discharging a firearm. We will continue investigating this matter to pursue justice on behalf of our client who sustained serious personal injuries as a result of this shooting."
Chicago police earlier Tuesday issued a statement saying the claim that a woman had brought in a gun and suffered a self-inflicted wound was "not released or confirmed by the Chicago Police Department." Police said the investigation was "still active and ongoing."
The shooting incident happened in the fourth inning of the Sox game against the Oakland A's Friday night.
A camera pointed at Section 162 shows the moment when fans called for help for the 42-year-old woman, who was shot in the leg. A 26-year-old woman was also grazed in the abdomen.
Sources said the women were teachers on a group outing. Chicago Public Schools, in a statement, confirmed one of the injured women is a CPS teacher.
"We can confirm that a Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher was injured Friday night while at the White Sox game. On behalf of the entire CPS community, we wish our staff member a speedy recovery."
Police sources this past weekend said at the same time as the gunshots struck the women, a ShotSpotter device recorded nine rounds being fired at 42nd Place and Princeton Avenue – a mile away from the ballpark.
But on Monday, police said the incident likely involved a gun going off inside Guaranteed Rate Field.
"Something from inside - it could have happened that way," Interim police Supt. Fred Waller said Monday.
Meanwhile, although the game was not suspended despite an early request to do so from Chicago Police, the former commander of the Deering (9th) District that includes the ballpark reviewed the case - and said he believes the organization acted appropriately, given the circumstances.
"An emergency evacuation for 22,000 people in the dark, late in the evening, trying to exceed the capacity of the exits - it could have been a much worse situation," retired Chicago Police Chief of Detective Eugene Roy told CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey on Monday.
A postgame Vanilla Ice concert was canceled. The Sox at the time blamed "technical issues" with no mention of a shooting. Staff said the incident was initially presented to them as an injury, and as police investigated, there was no active threat to other fans.
"That was not canceled for any security concern. It was canceled so that CPD could go and investigate the area. They needed the lights to be on and they needed fans to be out of the area," White Sox Senior Vice President Scott Reifert said this past weekend.