2 men shot outside Grand Crossing funeral home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men were critically wounded in a shooting late Wednesday morning outside a funeral home in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Police said, shortly before 11 a.m., two men were standing on the sidewalk in the 7800 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, in front of Leak & Sons Funeral Home, when a vehicle drove past them, and someone inside started shooting.
A 38-year-old man was shot in the face, head, and neck. Paramedics took him to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition.
A 43-year-old man was shot in the jaw, and took himself to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
A Chicago Fire Department spokesperson confirmed another person who was not shot, but suffered a hip injury, was taken to St. Bernard Hospital.
The shooting happened outside the funeral home, but it was not immediately clear if the shooting was connected to a funeral that was taking place at the time. A funeral was taking place for 18-year-old Jhacharion Johnson, who was shot to death earlier this month in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
A person who was inside the funeral spoke to CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot off-camera and said a man wearing a black backpack and black hoodie walked into the funeral, and people inside started to duck under the pews. Some recognized him as a gang member. The man went to the casket and took pictures of Johnson, then left.
The witness said the man went to a car, then pulled in front of the funeral home and started shooting back at the man in the car.
Spencer Leak Jr., the vice president of the funeral home, said in years past, the funeral home never had such issues, but that's changed.
"This is happening not only in Chicago, but across the country," Leak said. "You hear about it in D.C. You hear about it in Philadelphia. You hear about it in California. So it's not a Chicago problem. It's a national problem and nationally, our elected officials need to come together and say and agree on something where we can get the guns out of people's hands. We can get the help that people need, mentally, physically, and emotionally."
Leak added that his and other Black-owned funeral homes across the city are considered institutions that help people "when they're in their lowest of moments and we're going to continue to do that."
A police squad car was detailed to the funeral and someone still came to the scene and opened fire on those attending.
No one was in custody Wednesday afternoon. Area 2 detectives were investigating.
