US: Four killed, 14 injured in shooting outside nightclub in Chicago

Chicago [US], July 3 : At least four people were killed and 14 others injured in a drive-by shooting late Wednesday night (local time) outside the Artis Lounge nightclub in Chicago's River North neighbourhood, CBS News reported, citing local police.

As per CBS News, at around 11 pm on Wednesday, a dark SUV reportedly drove by the nightclub on the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue, where three individuals inside the vehicle opened fire on a crowd gathered outside.

The crowd had just exited the club following an album release party for rapper Mello Buckzz.

Police detailed that among the deceased were two men, one a 24-year-old who was shot in the chest and another a 25-year-old who was shot in the head, both of whom died at Stroger Hospital. As reported by CBS News.

An 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl, both shot in the chest, were pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The victims who sustained injuries range from 21 to 32 years old, and two were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, two to Mt Sinai, three to Stroger, and six to Northwestern Memorial for treatment. Authorities said four of the injured are in serious to critical condition, CBS News reported.

Rapper Mello Buckzz, in a social media statement, expressed heartbreak and called for prayers.

"Prayers up for all my sisters, god please wrap your arms around every last one of them... Feel like everything just weighing down on me...All I can do is talk to god and pray," she said, as quoted by CBS News.

Pastor Donovan Price, who responded to the scene, described the situation as one of the worst he has ever witnessed, with victims' loved ones desperately searching for each other and their belongings amidst the chaos.

"The worst, the worst I've seen. People wanting to find their other people, find who was alive, finding who was, you know, where their phones were because they dropped them in the chaos, so they couldn't even call or couldn't even find their car keys. It's, it's something that you wouldn't expect to find in the city, we have a lot of shootings, but nothing, nothing like this," he told CBS News.

As of Thursday, no arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to search for the three suspects.

Notably, as per CBS News, the same block was the site of another mass shooting in November 2022, when the venue was known as Hush Lounge. That incident left one dead and three injured. Following that event, the city closed Hush Lounge, and Artis Lounge later opened at the same location.

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