Asylum seekers, usually from Venezuela, camp out in front of the Grand Crossing police station at 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
Tyler Pasciak LaRivière/Sun-Times
Yerlianny Romero said she was outside the Grand Crossing police station with her young son in her arms when gunmen arrived in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and began shooting.
Romero, a 28-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker who is temporarily living in the southern zone police station, was wounded in the buttocks. One man, a Colombian migrant, was shot in the right thigh, police said.
Romero said he had only been in Chicago for a week when he shot and killed Saturday afternoon.
Read this article in Spanish at La Voz Chicago.
“He was crying and screaming,” Romero, speaking in Spanish, said of her son in an interview with Telemundo Chicago.
The 24-year-old migrant, who was also shot dead outside the police station, told Telemundo that the bullet lodged in his leg and that the wound hurts in cold weather. He says he wants to go to the police station to warm up. up to make the pain go away.
“I don’t know why they fired,” said the man, who was on crutches and asked not to be known by name.
The gunmen fired at the migrants who were on a sidewalk, as shown in a video of the incident. Migrants camp out in tents in front of the police station.
Karolina Briceno said she was outside with her 4-year-old daughter and dozens of other migrants when the shooting occurred.
“When we heard the gunshots, someone yelled, ‘Everybody on the ground!'” Briceno told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday. “And we all fell. But by then, the other two people had already been shot. When the firing stopped, we all ran into the station. The only ones left outside were the two wounded.
He said his young daughter was inconsolable.
“She screamed when she saw the young man all bloodied on the ground,” Briceno said. “It had a big effect on her and the other kids. “
Briceño, a Venezuelan, arrived in Chicago on a bus from Texas last week. She is staying at the police station with her daughter and fears that a shooting could break out at any moment.
“Can you believe it if this happened in the past and young people got hurt?” he says. We need to be taken somewhere else because we live with trauma. It’s anything that has left a mark.
Migrants staying at the Grand Crossing police station said Romero and the other victim were taken to the scene.
A police report did not provide any major details about the shooting or any conceivable motive.
The report names Romero and the other victim, but identifies them as migrants. He gave his address at 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave. , the address of the precinct.
Hundreds of immigrants have been living in Chicago police stations lately as they wait for more permanent housing.
More than 17,000 people from Venezuela and other Latin American countries have arrived in Chicago since last summer, an exodus spurred by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who said in May that Chicago and other Democratic-controlled “sanctuary cities” “offer a lot of resources. ” We needed help for our overrun border communities.
It’s unclear how many recent immigrants have experienced violence or committed acts of violence since arriving here. Chicago police officials say they are not following up on the reports.
On Tuesday, police announced charges against 25-year-old Anthony Evans, accused of driving the jeep used in the shooting. He then collided with a police vehicle in the 5400 block of South State Street, injuring 4 officers who were trapped in the rubble. police said. Two pistols were recovered from the Jeep. All 4 occupants of the Jeep were taken into custody.
Anthony Evans is charged with the jeep used in Saturday’s shooting that allegedly crashed into a police car.
Chicago Police Department
Evans is charged with driving while intoxicated, assault and battery in connection with the shooting and being a felon, in possession of a Glock handgun that was converted into an electronic handgun. In 2019, he was granted parole for illegal possession of firearms.
Evans remains hospitalized due to injuries from the crash, he said.
Contributor: Matthew Hendrickson