One person was killed and two others seriously wounded in a shooting early Friday on Interstate 57 on Chicago's Far South Side, police said.
The shooting happened just before 1 a.m. on I-57 near 119th Street, according to Illinois State Police.
Occupants of two separate vehicles were wounded in the attack, state police said. The vehicles involved drove to the 22nd District Chicago Police Station, 1900 W. Monterey Ave., for medical attention, state police said.
Two people were transported to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and one person was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said. All three people were initially listed in serious condition, according to Merritt.
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One person was later pronounced dead, according to state police.
A fourth occupant was not wounded in the shooting, state police said.
All northbound lanes of I-57 near 119th Street remained closed as of 4 a.m., state police said.
Local
The shooting comes amid a spike in violence on the Chicago area's expressways. As of late last week, authorities said 38 expressway shootings had been reported since the year began, a number that more than triples the amount of shootings seen at the start of 2020.
In the first two months of 2020, 11 shootings were reported on Chicago-area expressways, marking the start of what became a record year for the area, ending with 128 total shootings, according to ISP.
Officials say expressway incidents are almost coming faster than they can be tallied. Investigators say they rarely find good eyewitnesses, and very often would-be victims can be uncooperative.
"People are in fear of helping police. The retaliation factor is huge," ISP Colonel David Byrd told NBC 5 last fall. "We're going to need them to stand up ... because otherwise these criminals will continue to do the same thing over and over again. And we can't have that!"
Anyone with information on any of the shootings is asked to call the Illinois State Police at 847-294-4400. Callers can remain anonymous.
