12 Injured in Chicago Mass Shooting on Juneteenth

12 injured in Chicago (Representative image)

At least 12 people were shot in Chicago when two men opened fire in a crowd on the street on Saturday. An SUV pulled up and two people inside started shooting, police said. Police said the SUV fled the South Side neighbourhood after the shooting late on Friday, leaving two men in critical condition. One of the victims suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh, reported Associated press. The injured included eight men and four women aged between 17 and 47. The victims were taken to four different hospitals for treatment. Police also said another man sustained injuries of an unknown nature but declined medical treatment. Officers initially responded to reports of a person being shot and found a woman suffering from two gunshot wounds to her back and a man with four graze wounds to his back. Authorities said both victims were in fair condition. Police have launched an investigation into the incident, though no further details were immediately released. The latest shooting was part of a broader wave of gun violence in the city. Police said at least 21 people had been shot in the city since Friday evening, with four of the incidents proving fatal. The violence occurred on Juneteenth, the US holiday commemorating the end of slavery. Earlier in the day, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama had welcomed the first visitors to his presidential centre on the city's South Side. Pastor Donovan Price, a community advocate who works with victims of gun violence, described the mass shooting as especially tragic given the significance of the occasion. “It should be celebrating,” he said. “Fireworks should not turn into gunshots.”