One child was injured Sunday afternoon when an awning fell on two boys outside of a strip mall in a Chicago suburb.
Jimmy Beers was standing with his brother outside King David's Airsoft and Hobbies in Mundelein at about noon when he heard a loud "crack sound."
"The next thing I know the awning, it kind of hit me," he said. "But I pushed it off to the side and it was on the ground and my brother was screaming and crying."
The falling awning left his brother, Cameron, with a 3 1/2-inch gash that needed 18 stitches, said father James Beers, who witnessed the canopy come crashing down.
“It’s just wrong. It should never happen. No parent should have to go through it, no person should have to witness what I saw," James Beers said.
Rescue crews left the scene about 40 minutes later and no other injuries were reported.
David Tsao, the owner of the 1432 S. Butterfield Rd. storefront, said he rents the space from the building's landlord. He said the awning in question, as well as others in the mall, are in “bad condition and old.”
Local
He said the village building inspectors were at the strip mall about an hour after the incident. Village workers were also securing other awnings at the building, Tsao said.
“There is no way that I can inspect the awnings,” Tsao said. “But we know that the awnings are rusted and we can tell that they are not in good shape.”
Rishi Sharma, who owns a Subway restaurant at the same strip mall, echoed Tsao’s concerns.
“It looks like the awning fell down because it is pretty old,” Sharma said.
Building department personnel and authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.
