A Juneteenth celebration in the parking lot of a strip mall in unincorporated Willowbrook ended in gunfire Sunday morning, leaving dozens of people scrambling for safety.
According to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, one person has died after the shooting and at least 22 others were injured.
Markeshia Avery, who witnessed the shooting, said that a Juneteenth celebration was taking place in the parking lot.
“We were getting ready to go, we gathered everyone else that was with us, and we heard shooting, and we dropped down,” she said. “They just kept going. We scattered, and started trying to check up on everyone that we knew.”
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Police say that deputies in the area of Honeysuckle Rose Lane and Route 83 heard a number of gunshots just before 12:30 a.m.
Responding officers found numerous gunshot victims, with 20 in all reportedly suffering injuries.
Neighbors told NBC 5 that they estimated more than 100 cars and hundreds of people in the parking lot when they heard the gunfire erupt.
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“Out of nowhere, a major gunfight for like 30 seconds, 60-plus rounds. You could tell it was two different groups of people shooting at each other,” neighbor Bart Majurzek said.
Craig Loccie described the scene as “chaos,” and said any gatherings that have taken place in the past have been peaceful.
“We were just out, and the next thing you know shots are going off, and everybody ran,” he said. “It was chaos. We usually just have a small get-together, and it’s usually cool and peaceful.”
Police say it is unclear at this time whether there was one shooter or multiple assailants, and that the investigation remains active.
Avery remains shaken by the experience, and is left processing what took place.
“I’ve never been in anything like this in my life,” she said. “I have a headache from the whole commotion.”
“When something like this happens, it’s scary, but it just happens so frequently it’s becoming like….grieve for the family, but that’s all you can do,” Nicole Kozney said.
