2 dead, 5 wounded at Church's Chicken in Englewood

Two people were killed and five others wounded when shots rang out at a fast-food restaurant in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side this evening, authorities said.

The gunman had gotten into an argument with a person outside the Church's Chicken restaurant near 66th and Halsted streets, then chased the person inside and opened fire about 6:50 p.m., police said.

Surveillance video appears to show the intended target trying to run away through a crowd of people, police said. No one was in custody, police said.

Two people were dead on scene and four others were taken to hospitals initially in critical condition, according to police and the Chicago Fire Department. It was not known whether the person being chased was among the victims.

A 58-year-old man with several gunshot wounds and 17-year-old boy were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn; a 16-year-old boy and a 51-year-old man were taken to Stroger Hospital. A fifth person also was hospitalized, but no information on that victim was available about 10:15 p.m.

The people who died were in the area of the restaurant where customers pick up their food, one person at the scene said.

Friends of a 17-year-old boy who was killed arrived at the scene around 8 p.m., screaming in agony.

"This is crazy. This is crazy," said LaToia Brown, who said the victim had dated her daughter off and on for years.

LaToia Brown said the teen had called her mama and often rode his bike to her house to see if she needed anything from the store. "That baby was definitely a good kid," she said, trying to hold back tears. "I loved everything about my baby."

Brown said the boy's cousin called to tell her he had been killed.

"I got up here as soon as I could, as soon as I hung up the phone," she said.

LaToia Brown's 16-year-old daughter, Diamond, said she and the victim were good friends and said he was always supportive and tried to lift everyone's spirit.

"He was a great big brother to my brothers and sisters," Diamond Brown said, tears welling in her eyes.

Crowds of people gathered at the yellow crime scene tape outside the restaurant, some trying to find out if friends or relatives had been shot.

Dozens of police officers and detectives stood in the restaurant's parking lot, where officers had placed several yellow evidence markers. Several detectives could be seen just inside the restaurant's entrance.

Police cars lined South Halsted Street, which was closed to traffic for about three blocks.

The restaurant is on the southwest corner of West 66th and South Halsted streets, next to a small food market and across the street from an auto parts store and a Family Dollar.

An Emergency Medical Services Plan 1, which sends six ambulances to a scene, was called for the attack, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicagoBreakingNews/~3/H-Vf4YSMFtk/chi-6-shot-in-south-side-attack-20111227,0,2092476.story

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