Chicago again rocked by violence; Mayor Lightfoot calls mass shooting on Near North Side a ‘horrible tragedy’ – Chicago Tribune

Nine people were shot, two fatally, in a shooting near a fast-food restaurant and CTA station on the Near North Side late Thursday. The mayor and police leaders blamed parents for not keeping track of their children and a flood of guns entering the city.

One person shot at a crowd outside a fast-food outlet, then fled into a subway station and injured one person.

The McDonald’s and nearby blocks have been a hot spot off and on over the past few years. The mayor has resisted bringing out the National Guard to deal with violence.

Around lunchtime Friday, State and Chicago was packed with people. Police tape and traffic cones blocked the drive-thru of a McDonald’s.

Jim Smaron said the crime in the area around the McDonald’s has gotten worse in the last three to four years. He said the new Whole Foods would only make the problem worse.

The city was shocked by the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Seandell Holliday in Millennium Park. Over the weekend and without skipping a beat walks into this. Police blamed the shootings on the easy availability of illegal guns in the area.

Two people died in a shooting, including a 30-year-old man who was shot in the chest. A 31-year-old man was shot in the back and pronounced dead.

Authorities evacuated CTA passengers after a shooting at a Red Line train, and removed people who appeared to be badly injured from an area near the station entrance.

As paramedics and officers worked the scene, a fight erupted across the street and a group of teens argued with police before being pushed back.

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