TikTok video documents mass shooting in Willowbrook; family of man who died to file suit
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Newly-obtained video shows the moments before and during the mass shooting that left a man dead and 21 people injured in a Willowbrook parking lot this past weekend.
The gunfire rang out at a gathering to celebrate Juneteenth early this past Sunday morning in a strip mall parking lot at Route 83 and Honeysuckle Rose Lane.
The TikTok video is so disturbing that we froze it before shots rang out and people hid for cover.
As CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reported Wednesday, the video was released by the attorney for Reginald Meadows – the 31-year-old father who was killed in the mass shooting.
"Reginald, he wasn't just a dad, Reginald - he was a father," said Meadows' fiancée, Ashley Miller. "I'm trying to help my kids understand this confusion; this nonsense."
The attorney says is not filing a lawsuit right now - they still need to gather more evidence.
But the reason a lawsuit is planned is because the attorney says the liquor store was not closed after 10 p.m. – and there was no permit to hold the gathering in the parking lot.
As the evening went on, the crowd grew, and sometimes turned violent - with a couple of fights breaking out. One video provided by the family attorney shows an altercation that got physical.
Attorney Robert Fakhouri also provided a video that shows the moments before someone opened fire at the celebration. It shows people ducking from the bullets.
The direction from which the gunshots came is unclear.
The family's attorney said they have issued letters to preserve evidence to the parking lot property owners so they can gather more surveillance videos, as well as communication.
Our own reporting shows the parking lot where the shooting happened was not zoned for the Juneteenth party.
DuPage County Board Commissioner Brian Krajewski (R-3rd) represents the area of unincorporated Willowbrook Township where the mass shooting happened. He said to his knowledge, the board never got a permit request – or even a phone call inquiring about the gathering.
The family's attorney said printed-out flyers, and flyers posted on social media, promoted the events for weeks. A film production crew had also been invited to record a local rapper's music video in the parking lot – an event for which a few hundred people assembled Saturday.
Miller fought back tears as she explained that she and Meadows were only there for five to 10 minutes – when girls started fighting, and then gunshots went off.
"The gunshots, it lasted what seemed like for a lifetime. I ran and I hid. And when I ran and I hid, I know the only reason Reginald didn't duck is because he wanted to make sure I was OK. That was his main thing," Miller said. "I know he was trying to make sure. I was OK. I was OK already. I was OK already. I looked up, and I seen him run. He ran straight. I tried to get up and get him, but there was some other woman there. She pulled me down. She said, 'No, sweetie – they're still shooting.' And so I went back down. I wish I would have got up."
Fakhouri said while lawsuit hasn't been filed yet, he is looking into the possibility of filing a wrongful death case against the property owner of the shopping center.
"Based on the information I received last night, with the tenants and their involvement in staying open well past the time that they should have, and serving liquor to those patrons that were there visiting the property," said attorney Robert Fakhouri, representing the Meadows family.
In fact, the owners of the liquor store even told CBS 2 they stayed open until midnight, while Fakhouri says they were supposed to close at 10 p.m.
"It is not that this was sudden and surprise event," Fakhouri said. "This is something that they welcomed."
We reached out to the manager of the liquor store, who said it is allowed to stay open past their posted closing hours. There is also an ordinance in Willowbrook that allows them to sell liquor until 2 a.m.
