Chicago funeral home shooting leaves 3 in critical condition

A Wednesday morning shooting outside a Chicago funeral home reportedly left three victims badly injured.

Authorities said the gunfire erupted around 11 a.m. local time at Leak & Sons Funeral Home on the city’s south side, according to NBC News in Chicago. It’s unclear what prompted the violence. Officials said at least three people were injured.

A funeral home spokesperson said the victims were exiting a funeral when they were gunned down. The service was reportedly being held for a crime victim. Police were said to be present when the shootings happened.

The chaos occurred just over two miles east of a July 2020 funeral home shooting where 15 mourners were struck by bullets fired from a moving car.

At least one of the victims Wednesday was shot in the head, according to ABC News. That individual was reportedly rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition.

Police in Oak Park, Ill., a nearby western suburb, responded to an attack during a funeral in June, where four people attending a service were shot. A source familiar with that investigation told the Chicago Tribune the man being memorialized had gang ties.

Details behind Wednesday’s gunplay are still developing. The Windy City’s newly selected police commissioner, Larry Snelling, said officer safety and reducing violence will be his top priorities, according to The Associated Press.

“I’ve worked in some of the most violent beats in the city,” said the former patrolman, who was raised on Chicago’s south side.

Snelling will oversee a police force of 12,000 officers. That’s 3,000 more cops than Los Angeles has patrolling a population of 4 million people. Chicago’s population is 2.7 million, according to Census Bureau figures.

Murders in Chicago are down by 5% and shooting are down 10% in 2023, according to department crime statistics. But overall, major crimes are up 35% from 2022.