22 Injured, 1 Dead After Shooting at Illinois Juneteenth Party

Police investigate a crime scene in a file photo taken in Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images

At least one person was killed and 22 were injured in a shooting during a Juneteenth celebration in Illinois over the weekend.

The shooting took place in a parking lot in Willowbrook, Illinois, roughly 21 miles west of Chicago, in the early morning hours of June 18.

According to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, a large group of people gathered for the Juneteenth celebration at about 6 pm. on June 17, with police present at the site to monitor the event. At 12:25 a.m., the officers were called away to respond to another fight nearby.

“As deputies responded, they heard gunshots and immediately returned to the scene of the gathering,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, adding that an “unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd.”

As the firing triggered chaos, several people were injured while trying to flee, the sheriff’s office said. The police had not arrested anyone by the afternoon of June 18, and investigators said they were reviewing surveillance and cellphone videos.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States in 1863.

The shooting incident attracted criticism as Illinois already has tight gun control laws.

“This is about Thuggism & & Character lack—NOT Guns. This area has some of the strictest gun laws,” media personality Judge Joe Brown in a June 19 tweet. “Thugs don’t follow the law but they kill good folks who do.”

Illinois requires citizens to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public, and permit holders must complete a hands-on safety training course. Background checks are necessary for all handgun sales.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a Democrat-backed prohibition on assault-style rifles and large capacity magazines to remain in effect in Illinois.

Crime Policies

The Juneteenth shooting has not only brought attention to Illinois gun laws but also to the crime policies of Democrats.

“Black Lives don’t matter even on Juneteenth. Liberal democrats soft on crime with, ‘Let’em go politics’ is the cause,” Rep. Vernon Jones (R-Ga.) said in a June 19 tweet.

A controversial law, the SAFE-T Act, was set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, in Illinois. But on Dec. 31, the state Supreme Court placed on hold a portion of the bill that would have eliminated cash bail for certain crimes.

Republican leaders had earlier raised alarm bells about the SAFE-T act, warning that it would result in a rapid rise in crime in Illinois, including Chicago. The city frequently registers over 700 homicides annually.

State Sen. John Curran, a Republican, pointed out that SAFE-T’s cashless bail raises the risk of releasing dangerous criminals back into the streets. Multiple law enforcement officials had also warned about the cashless bail provision.

Other Shootings

Illinois wasn’t the only state where Juneteenth shootings took place this year. In California, one person died following a shooting at a similar event in San Diego the evening of June 17. The incident took place after a dispute broke out at Liberty Station between attendees, and one person pulled out a gun, Fox 5 reported.

The shooter fired nine shots. Two people were hit, with one man succumbing to his injuries. Detectives from the San Diego Police are investigating the shooting and a suspect has been identified.

In North Carolina, a two-day Juneteenth Festival at Asheville’s Pack Square Park ended abruptly after two minors were shot and taken to the hospital, The Charlotte Observer reported.

The shooting took place on June 18, just before 9 p.m. Officers took a 16-year-old into custody, charging the teen with assault. The two victims were quickly taken to a hospital. One victim was released while the other remained in stable condition.

“We are saddened that a day of celebration and community unity was darken by a cloud of violence,” Oralene A.G. Simmons, president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County, said in a Facebook post the day after the shooting.