3 dead, 1 wounded in shooting outside W. Garfield Park store
Three men were killed and another critically wounded in a shooting that started as an apparent argument over cigarettes Wednesday at a convenience store in West Garfield Park.
They were standing on a sidewalk in front of the Quick Drive Thru Food Mart about 2:48 p.m. in the 4200 block of West Madison Street when someone in a white sedan opened fire, according to Chicago police and fire officials.
Three men, ages 19, 22 and 23, were struck and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they died, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Their names had not been released.
A fourth man, 22, was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.
A group of people huddled at the corner store across the street. They all declined to comment, except one man, who declined to share his identity but pleaded for journalists and the city to do more for communities affected by gun violence.
“Stop closing schools. Open them back up. Do something about the vacant lots. We need people here not just when there are killings. We need people to do more,” he said.
Sybil Mason, a 56-year-old woman who lives a block from the shooting, said she was down the street when she heard at least 15 gunshots.
“When I got here, girls were screaming, guys were screaming, and there was a guy around in a puddle of blood,” she said.
Mason said she heard the conflict arose when two men asked another man if the store sold cigarettes. When he said they sold cigarettes across the street, the two men opened fire on him.
Mason added that she’s lived in the area for the last 40 years and is looking to move so her family can get away from the violence.
“There’s shooting all around here. I’m hoping for an end or to get the heck out of here,” Mason said. “Everywhere you go, you get the same results.”