A 71-year-old Chicago man was fatally shot in an apparently random shooting carried out outside Chinatown elementary school in broad daylight.
An eighth-grader from Haines Elementary recounted to CBS 2 that she heard the gunshots, their teacher told them to get down quickly and go on lockdown. “We all did,” the student told the outlet of the shooting.
According to the police report, the 71-year-old victim was heading to a local store in Chicago’s Chinatown to pick up a newspaper when a car pulled up next to him at around 12:30 p.m.
The suspected shooter, from inside the car, opened fire on the older man, then got out of the vehicle and kept shooting the victim. The suspect then drove away, police said.
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A video circulating on Twitter appears to show the shooting.
The suspect in the shooting was arrested by police about two miles from where he gunned the old man down around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of West 23rd Place, according to the Chicago Sun.
On Tuesday evening, a prayer vigil was held by a local church group, with participants standing in a circle holding candles where the man was shot.
The fatal shooting took place after a violent weekend in Chicago. On Saturday, A city bus driver was rushed to hospital after being beaten on the street. A 15-year-old was shot in the arm, dozens of young people flooded the Loop, fights broke out, police arrested 21 youths, and two police officers were wounded.
So far this year, at least seven people have been shot in Chinatown, according to CBS 2. Four people were shot during the same time period last year.
Following the weekend chaos, democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a statement saying “swift action” will be taken and that parents need to take responsibility for their children.
