3 killed, 2 hurt after drag race ends in gunfire in Brighton Park

Three people were killed and two others seriously hurt after gunfire erupted during a large unauthorized drag race early Sunday in Brighton Park, according to Chicago police.

Around 100 cars had taken over an intersection in a “drag racing and drifting incident” when about 13 shots rang out around 4 a.m. at Archer and Kedzie avenues, Police Cmdr. Don Jerome told reporters at the scene.

Five people were involved in the shooting, Jerome said. Three males, all around 15 to 20 years old, were killed, he said. Two others were listed in serious condition at hospitals.

The shooting happened at one of several “car caravans” that police were monitoring overnight, Jerome said. Police had been monitoring the one at Archer and Kezdie on surveillance cameras, he said. The other car caravans that night did not turn violent.

Police were still looking for one or two gunmen, Jerome said. No weapons were recovered at the scene, he said.

A man, 20, was shot in the chest and left thigh and went to Holy Cross Hospital, where he died, police said. Another man, also 20, was shot in the chest and upper body and went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. A third person went to Holy Cross Hospital with gunshot wounds to his neck and chest and was pronounced dead. Another man, 21, was shot in the right thigh and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.A 19-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.

Twelve people have been killed in Brighton Park this year, according to data kept by the Chicago Sun-Times. The community area recorded two fewer homicides last year in the same period.

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