Two people have been charged in relation to a mass shooting that killed two individuals and left seven others wounded late Thursday in Chicago’s Near North neighborhood, police said.
The shooting occurred around 10:40 p.m. outside of a McDonald’s near Chicago Avenue and State Street.
Jaylun Sanders, of Chicago, was arrested for two felony counts of first-degree murder, seven felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. A second individual, Kameron Abram, 20, of Riverdale, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/no FOID card in connection with the shooting.
According to authorities, police identified Sanders as the offender who opened fire into a crowd, injuring all the nine victims. He then fled into the CTA system, but was apprehended by responding officers, police stated.
Police previously revealed two groups were arguing before someone, alleged to be Saunders, fired a gun into the crowd of people. The incident was captured on video nearby.
Video and photos from the scene show several of the glass doors and windows of the McDonald’s completely shattered.
Anthony Allen, 31, and Antonio Wade, 30, were identified as the two individuals killed in the shooting.
According to officials, at one point, one person sustained a burn injury due to falling on the tracks. The woman, in her 20s, was transported to a nearby hospital in Red, or serious, condition.
Glass is seen shattered from a shooting near a McDonald’s in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood on May 19, 2022.
Two witnesses say they were walking near Michigan Avenue when they heard shots fired, sirens and police cars.
“It was frightening,” one of the witnesses said. “Cause you don’t know what’s going on. I eat by Subway here because it’s close to where I live. I go by this street and I go by McDonald’s. What if something happens while I’m walking down the street? It’s frightening and it’s scary. It makes you feel unsafe, to be honest.”
One witness says the incident began when a large group of young people got into a fight outside the restaurant, when a car pulled up and someone inside the vehicle started shooting, hitting multiple people.
The mass shooting took place on the first night of a new curfew imposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot for unaccompanied young people, sparked by recent violent crime across different areas of the city including armed robberies, fatal shootings and carjackings.
