According to the Chicago police and fire officials, three people were stabbed and at least a dozen others were injured during the Fourth of July celebrations at Navy Pier. The police told that at about 10:10 p.m. in the 600 blocks of East Grand Avenue, a fight broke out among a group of males after some of them flashed gang signs.
They further added that a 14-year-old boy was stabbed in the arm and rib, while another boy, 15, was stabbed in the armpit. They were both taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized.
According to the police, a 30-year-old man who was not involved in the fight was stabbed in the face and arm, but could not remember details of the stabbing and did not see the suspect as well. He was also shifted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
The police confirmed that fourteen others were injured in the stampede near Harry Caray’s Tavern and none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
A 16-year-old boy who was believed by fire department paramedics to have been shot has actually suffered a puncture wound from an overturned table while running. He was also transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition. Authorities initially believed that he had been stabbed. It was not immediately clear whether he was part of the original fight.
There was no evidence of shots fired or someone being shot, Chicago police Sgt. Rocco Alioto said to reporters at a press briefing. He said, “Police believe someone threw firecrackers at the pier, and others yelled gun or shots fired, spurring a stampede that injured 14 people. Their injuries are not life-threatening.”
Witnesses described a chaotic scene, with parents separated from children, fences collapsing, elderly people falling down.
A witness Lucila Pulido said, “We were on the Sea Dog and our trip was about to be over and then all of a sudden we just heard the loudest screams and I turned and I saw everybody drop to the ground. It was the scariest thing ever. Then we saw people running with strollers, there were shoes everywhere, people just ran for their lives. It’s so sad because this is such a beautiful city.”
Another witness Rachel Schar recalled that she was collecting credit cards from a party table when she heard screaming, shoes rapidly pounding the pavement and shouts about a gun and people stabbed outside. After getting up from being tackled, she sprinted upstairs into an office that contained multiple security cameras streaming the pandemonium below her. It was pure chaos. I literally thought I was going to die.
According to the police, everyone entering the “secure area” on the pier was screened for weapons, but the stabbings happened outside of the “secure area.” Police are looking for two male suspects in the stabbings. No arrests have been made yet.
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