Police: Shooting leaves 2 people dead, 8 wounded

CHICAGO » Two people are dead and another eight wounded following a shooting near a fast food restaurant just blocks from Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile shopping district that sent bystanders scattering, authorities said. The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Thursday near a Mcdonald’s on the city’s Near North Side. One person was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered, police said in statement.

A subway train that travels through the area was stopped between stations as police searched for a weapon on the rails, Chief Juan Hernandez of the city’s fire department said, according to the Chicago Tribune. Hernandez said the department evacuated passengers at about 11:30 p.m. Trains on the line were running as normal Friday, the Chicago Transit Authority said.

Police have not released details about what led to the shooting, but a witness, 18-year-old Deonna Jackson, said it appeared to stem from a fight outside the restaurant.

“When the fight first started, we were right next to them,” Jackson told the Chicago Sun-times. “We had to run because I didn’t want anyone to swing on me.”

The shooting comes amid a surge in deadly violence in Chicago in recent years, and follows a fatal shooting last weekend in downtown Millennium Park that killed a teen and led the city to tighten a curfew for young people. And just days earlier, a shooting in an alley near the Chicago Theatre left two innocent bystanders injured, prompting a nearby theater to cancel a performance of a show.

Calling the shooting an “outrageous act of violence,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to deploy more police officers in the area; The closest subway station is routinely crowded with people frequenting popular restaurants and stores.