CHICAGO (MCT) — Four people were killed and two wounded Wednesday night in a hail of bullets exchanged by gunmen and employees of a variety store near the Altgeld Gardens housing complex on the city's Far South Side, authorities said.
Four men, a male teen and a woman were shot in The Connect store in the 500 block of East 130th Street at about 9:30 p.m. after several people walked in and opened fire, police said, citing preliminary reports. The business, located between a currency exchange and a Rosebud Farm Stand grocery store sells cell phones, clothing and grocery items.
Two store employees returned fire, officials said.
One of the gunmen who entered the store is thought to be among the dead, authorities said.
Three of the male victims--ages 25, 30 and 46--were dead on the scene, while a fourth person, a 17-year-old boy who possibly was one of the invading gunmen, was dead on arrival at Roseland Community Hospital, authorities said. None of their identities was available this morning.
Two survivors of the shooting were being treated at area hospitals. One is a woman, 39, who suffered multiple wounds to her lower extremities and was in serious condition, authorities said. The other is a 17-year-old boy who was shot in the thigh.
The store was heavily damagedby the gunfire, police said.
Three weapons were found down the street from the store, according to the early reports.
Police were questioning several people, but couldn't say whether they were suspects or witnesses.
Last night, The Connect was cordoned off with red and yellow tape. A few dozen people gathered behind that tape, some crying and hugging each other. Others were talking to police officers.
At one point, a fistfight broke out among some of them until officers quickly broke it up, and at another a man ran through the yellow tape shouting before a swarm of officers restrained him.
"He's (expletive) dead!" another man shouted into a cell phone while walking through an adjacent lot.
Squad cars were completely blocking off eastbound traffic at 130th, while two uniformed officers directed westbound motorists. By late evening, a major incident response vehicle from the police department's detective division had arrived on the scene.
None of those at the scene would speak with reporters.