The victim killed in a mass shooting at a Juneteenth parking lot party in Willowbrook, Illinois was identified by the coroner’s office Monday, while no arrests have been announced a day after the bloodshed.
Reginald Meadows, 31, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen, the DuPage County Coroner’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital Monday.
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office described how a “peaceful gathering” to celebrate Juneteenth hosted in a strip mall parking lot in Willowbrook, about 20 miles southwest of Chicago, suddenly turned violent around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
According to the sheriff’s office, an “unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd,” WGN-TV reported. In addition to Meadows’ death, there were nearly two dozen people injured in the attack.
SHOOTING AT ILLINOIS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION LEAVES AT LEAST 20 INJURED, 1 DEAD
“We know of 22 victims injured, and one victim killed by gunfire. Several other victims were also injured while attempting to flee the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Police tape blocks an area at the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Illinois, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
Authorities did not immediately release the conditions of those injured.
A motive for the attack was not immediately known, and no arrests have been announced as of Monday.
DuPage County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Robert Carroll said authorities were interviewing “persons of interest” in the shooting, the Daily Herald reported.
The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital on Monday that no further updates were available.
Police were at the strip mall before the shooting to monitor the gathering, but were called away because of a nearby fight, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Illinois, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
“They heard gunshots and immediately returned to the scene,” the sheriff’s office said.
“We transported numerous victims from the scene. Others just walked into area hospitals,” said Eric Swanson, deputy chief at the sheriff’s office.
SYRACUSE POLICE SAY AT LEAST 13 PEOPLE SHOT, STABBED OR STRUCK BY CARS AT MASS GATHERING OF HUNDREDS
Rick Wagner, who lives nearby, said there were at least 300 people in the lot by 10:30 p.m. “We’ve had multiple conversations with police” about large groups meeting there, Wagner told the Daily Herald.
A witness, Markeshia Avery, said it was a Juneteenth celebration. June 19 is the federal holiday commemorating the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed – two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Illinois, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
“We just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down until they stopped,” Avery told WLS-TV.
Another witness, Craig Lotcie, said: “Everybody ran, and it was chaos.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that he was monitoring the investigation.
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“Gathering for a holiday gathering should be a joyful occasion, not a time where gunfire erupts and families are forced to run for safety,” Pritzker said.
The White House released a statement Sunday afternoon, saying that the “President and First Lady are thinking of those killed and injured in the shooting in Illinois last night. We have reached out to offer assistance to state and local leaders in the wake of this tragedy at a community Juneteenth celebration.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
