Suspect ‘in custody’ after 2 dead, 7 injured in downtown Chicago shooting, police say

A suspect is in custody after nine people were shot, two fatally, Thursday night in an incident that left bystanders scattering near a busy downtown Chicago intersection, police said.

The shooting took place at about 10:40 p.m. near a train station at the intersection between Chicago Avenue and State Street on the city’s north side, CPD spokesperson Tom Ahern said in a tweet. The station is located near a shopping hub on State Street and the city’s iconic commercial district, Magnificent Mile.

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Police initially reported 10 people were shot.

The seven wounded were hospitalized in serious to critical condition, Chicago Fire Department officials told the Chicago Sun-Times. As train passengers were being evacuated, a woman sustained a serious burn injury after falling onto the tracks, fire officials added.

Police did not immediately provide details on the suspect or the shooting victims. A gun was recovered from the scene, according to the Chicago Police Department.

The shooting followed a fight that broke out near a McDonald’s, local outlets reported. Witnesses described a chaotic scene as bystanders fled the gunfire and police officers rushed to break up a fistfight that broke out among several people, the Sun-Times and NBC Chicago reported.

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One witness, Deonna Jackson, 18, told the Sun-Times she ran from the fight when it started.

“We get to 7/11, we turn around and they just get to shooting, to shooting like crazy,” Jackson said.

In a statement Friday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the shooting “an outrageous act of violence” and announced that the city will install a “fixed post” of police officers at the intersection.

“Area residents, commuters, and others simply must have the peace of mind that this highly trafficked area is safe, and it is time for more specific, concrete steps to be taken to address this area once and for all.”