‘This is personal': 7 teens wounded in drive-by shooting in Auburn Gresham after St. Sabina graduation party
Officers located multiple victims shot in an alley in the 1200 block of west 78th Street who were initially uncooperative, according to a police report. Victims later said that they were leaving a graduation party at St. Sabina Church when three to four people with ski masks exited a black SUV and started shooting. A neighbor also told officers that they saw a person step out of a dark colored SUV and shoot at the victims who were on the sidewalk.
Officers located a rifle found underneath a car and multiple shell casings were also found on the block, according to a police report.
'I'm angry, I'm mad, and I'm disgusted,' Pfleger said in a video on Facebook. 'This is not something you can solve by more programming, more police, by SNAP Curfew, none of that stuff can stop this. 2 o'clock in the morning what's gonna stop this is parents saying 'Where the hell are your kids?''
Pfleger in his statement urged parents to make sure they always know where their kids are, for young people to make wiser choices about what they post on social media and for people stop carrying around guns and embracing gun culture.
'This is personal. This is an attack on St. Sabina. This is an attack on me personally. This is an attack on everything we stand for,' Pfleger said.
Pfleger said that he is planning to offer a $10,000 dollar reward to anyone who catches the suspects of the shooting. He is advising anyone with information on the shooting to call either the police at 312-745-3610 or 773-483-4300
Teens ranging in age from 17 to 19 were taken to area hospitals.
No one was in custody for the drive-by shooting, and detectives were investigating.
The incident also comes about two weeks before St. Sabina is scheduled to do their peace walks, where St. Sabina parishioners walk through the neighborhood every Friday during the summer to prevent gun violence. The walk includes passing out information about social services and job opportunities, among other resources. The first march is scheduled for June 13 at 7 p.m.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
Supporters of Chicago "snap curfew" ordinance expected to make longshot bid to override Mayor Brandon Johnson's veto
Chicago's proposed "snap curfew" ordinance, which would allow Chicago police to impose a youth curfew anywhere in the city on as little as 30 minutes' notice, is back in the spotlight at City Hall. The City Council approved the controversial ordinance last month by a 27-22 vote, and Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed it days later. On Wednesday, the measure's supporters are expected to call for a vote to override the mayor's veto, though they're unlikely to succeed. Supporters would need 34 votes to override the mayor's veto, meaning several opponents of the ordinance would have to switch sides. In his veto letter to the city clerk, Johnson wrote, "At a time when violent crime continues to trend down in the City of Chicago, it is critical that we continue our investments in community safety strategies that have a proven track record of success. In two short years, we have seen a measurable, sustained decline in crime and violence in our city." The letter goes on to say that the mayor's administration will continue to partner with community organizations, businesses and philanthropists to invest in youth jobs, safe spaces and menta health care along with effective policing. The ordinance was presented as a way to get ahead of large pop-up teen gatherings that have turned violent in the past with fights, stabbings, and gunshots, leaving both teens and bystanders hurt. But opponents, including the ACLU, youth advocates, and Cook County public defenders call it an overreach, warning it could lead to racial profiling and violate constitutional rights. Johnson reiterated his opposition to the ordinance Wednesday morning, calling it "counterproductive." "There is no study that we have seen, or frankly anyone in Chicago has seen, that says that these type of measures and curfews will keep young people safe. And, in fact, if we were to enact such a thing, we would leave ourselves vulnerable to potential and costly lawsuits that do nothing to make our city safer," he said. Before last month's vote, 18 members of the council's Progressive Caucus sent Johnson a letter urging him to veto the measure. If all 18 of those alderpeople maintain their opposition to the ordinance, it would be enough votes to uphold the mayor's veto.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- CBS News
City Council narrowly approves "snap curfew" ordinance despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson
The Chicago City Council on Wednesday narrowly approved a controversial ordinance that would allow Chicago police to declare so-called "snap curfews" on as little as 30 minutes' notice in an effort to curb teen takeovers. The 27-22 vote came despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has called the measure "lazy governance," arguing the city instead should do more to offer youth jobs and programming to give teens other choices besides large often aimless gatherings that have sometimes turned violent. Johnson has not said if he will veto the ordinance, but if he does, supporters of the measure would need at least 34 votes to override a veto. The final City Council vote on the "snap curfew" ordinance was postponed last month, setting up Wednesday's showdown. The proposed ordinance, sponsored by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), would authorize Police Supt. Larry Snelling to declare temporary curfews anywhere in the city with as little as 30 minutes' notice when mass gatherings are expected or underway, and there is reason to believe they could become a risk to public safety. Supporters have said the ordinance would allow police to break up teen takeovers before they turn violent, but Johnson and other opponents have said police already have the power to issue dispersal orders when they spot large gatherings that become disruptive or dangerous. Critics of the proposal have said curfews are ineffective, and that the city needs to do more to offer youth safe options for youths so that they're not tempted to organize largely aimless gatherings that sometimes turn violent. Opponents also have said the language of the ordinance is too vague, and would allow police to arrest teens without any evidence they've violated the law, since police would be allowed to impose a new curfew before any gathering has turned violent or otherwise posed a public safety threat. Hopkins said the goal of the curfew ordinance is to prevent large gatherings of teens from turning violent by allowing police to break them up as soon as things seem to be getting out of control. "This ordinance would actually lean into tactics, to techniques and tools that are already being used by our deputy mayor of public safety in collaboration with the Police Department," Hopkins said. "This curfew ordinance is simply one more tool in that particular toolbox. It will work because the techniques that are currently being employed actually do work." Ald. Monique Scott (24th) said the city needs to give police more power to impose curfews, saying too many teens involved in such large gatherings don't care about the kinds of programming offered by the city and local community groups. "The havoc wreakers don't want structure. They want to roam, and so if we allowed our police officers a tool to give them the opportunity to enforce a curfew before they see it starting, that's a tool in their toolbox, and they should be able to use it," she said. Scott said violent teen takeovers in Chicago have reached the point that she doesn't let her own daughter go downtown. "If I have to send my kid to Oak Brook to have a good time to go shop and eat, then that's what I'll do until the city's streets are safe. I don't want her in an area where there's no control, and the kids are doing what they want to do, and they're running up and down the streets," she said. Mayor Johnson has said police already have the power to arrest people for committing crimes at such gatherings without relying on power to declare temporary curfews, but Hopkins argued that "this curfew is a better alternative to arresting teenagers." "The police can arrest them. Let's give them something better where they don't have to. They'll simply take them out of this volatile dangerous situation, remove them from it, end the chaos and mayhem, and let the teenagers be safely returned to their families when a parent or guardian comes and gets them," Hopkins said. "That is much better than having to arrest them for doing the things that are in fact criminal acts." The mayor has been outspoken in his opposition to the ordinance, saying on Tuesday, "We're debating something that doesn't work. Why are we even debating it?" "It places too much pressure on law enforcement. I continuously say that we cannot just simply rely upon policing alone. We need people to help my administration do the things that work. When we invest in people, violent crime goes down," he said ahead of Wednesday's vote. "We cannot afford lazy governance, and then we just wash our hands, absolve ourselves of any responsibility, and say, 'Police, you do it.' That is antiquated. That form of governance is dead, and should remain dead." Ald. Angela Clay (46th) criticized the proposal's supporters for not consulting with youth groups about potential alternatives to the snap curfew ordinance. "It bothers me that we have a room full of young people back here, and nobody has asked them their opinion on this issue. I'm very much so dedicated that the people who are mostly impacted by what we are discussing should be at the table, making sure that they are also giving their observations and opinions on the matter," she said. Youth advocates from Good Kids Mad City, Communities United, and other community groups rallied at City Hall on Wednesday in opposition to the snap curfew proposal. They called on alderpeople to vote no and support a youth-led alternative known as the Peace Book Ordinance, which seeks to increase investment in youth-led violence prevention programs. It also would employ youth peacekeepers, create neighborhood-based and citywide peace commissions, and create a "Peace Book" guide of resources for de-escalation and violence prevention tactics. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) has repeatedly argued that the ordinance could potentially lead to racial profiling by police, noting when he was in high school, he and his friends often got kicked out of places like Navy Pier by police, with or without a curfew. "Every single weekend at Navy Pier, you would watch scores of young kids all getting kicked out, and police telling us to get the heck out of there," he said. "But you would also see who would not get kicked out … typically they were more affluent, typically they weren't Black and Brown, and all that did to us is make us feel like we weren't part of a community, make us feel like we were less than anybody around, and actually led more of us to engage in further activity we shouldn't be engaging in." Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who originally was one of Hopkins' co-sponsors on the snap curfew ordinance, pulled his support last month, after a provision was removed that would have required both Snelling and the city's deputy mayor of community safety to sign off on any snap curfews. Instead, the ordinance now up for a vote would only require Snelling to consult the deputy mayor before enforcing snap curfews, but the final decision would be solely up to the superintendent. "This power is bestowed in one department whose interests may not necessarily be totally aligned with the interests of our entirety of the city," Ervin said on Wednesday. "Giving authority to a department that historically has not had the best interests of Black kids in its place is not something that I want to sign up for." Complicating Wednesday's debate was Snelling's own stance on the specifics of the measure. According to published reports from WBEZ Public Radio and WTTW-TV, Snelling recently told a federal judge overseeing the federal consent decree mandating sweeping reforms at CPD that he never sought the power to impose snap curfews, and even if granted the authority, would never use it with only 30 minutes' notice.
Miami Herald
02-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Shooting injures 7 at gathering near church, IL cops say. ‘This is personal'
Several people were hospitalized after a gunman opened fire on a late-night gathering across the street from a Catholic school, Illinois police said. Seven males between the ages of 17 and 19 were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds on May 31, Chicago police said. One is in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the chest and leg, while the other six are in fair condition, police said. 'I am angry. I'm disgusted. I'm hurt, and I'm mad,' St. Sabina senior pastor the Rev. Michael Pfleger said in a video. Police were dispersing the crowd of young people when a person driving by shot at the group just 'steps away' from St. Sabina Catholic Church on the city's South Side, police and Pfleger said. The pastor, whose church is two weeks away from hosting a peace rally in the community, is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of those involved in the drive-by shooting. 'This is personal to me,' he said in a video. He added, 'I want the people in that car caught. I want them in jail.' Pfleger's message to the community acknowledged gun violence in the community. In a video, Pfleger said it is parents' responsibility to know where their children are and keep them safe. He also left a message for young people, telling them they are 'too valuable' to put their lives at risk. 'And stop carrying around all these guns,' he said. 'When are we going to wake up from this damn gun culture?' Police said no one is in custody and detectives are investigating.
