Cops: Shots at White Sox game likely fired in park
CHICAGO — A shooting that wounded two women at Friday night’s Chicago White Sox–Oakland Athletics game most likely involved a gun that went off inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago’s interim police superintendent said Monday.
Officials have said little about where the bullets came from, or if someone brought a gun into the stadium, but Fred Waller, interim superintendent of Chicago Police Department, said Monday that investigators have nearly ruled out the possibility that the shots came from outside the ballpark, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“We’re dispelling a lot of things,” Waller said during a brief media availability. “(A shot) coming from outside is something we’ve almost completely dispelled. We’re still looking at every avenue. It’s still under investigation. Something from inside, it could’ve happened that way. We’re looking at every avenue, exploring every lead and everything that we can get.”
A spokesperson for Major League Baseball declined comment Monday.
Both wounded women, ages 42 and 26, were expected to recover from the shooting that occurred during the fourth inning during Oakland’s 12-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Police said the 42-year-old sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and the 26-year-old had a graze wound to her abdomen.
Waller said the police department initially requested that the game be halted after the shooting was discovered.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was made aware of the shooting shortly after it occurred Friday, but he declined to say whether he was part of the decision to allow the game to continue or whether in hindsight that was the right choice.
“Obviously, this is an ongoing investigation and the Chicago Police Department has done a remarkable job of gathering all the evidence and as more information becomes available, that information will be reported,” Johnson said.
The White Sox said Saturday that they were not aware at first that a woman injured during the game was shot, and that the Chicago Police Department would have stopped play if officers thought it was unsafe to continue.
