By MICK DUMKE, MITCH DUDEK and JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times
Three men were killed and four other people wounded in a Christmas night shooting in Chatham. / Mitch Dudek for the Sun Times
Nearly two weeks after a Christmas night attack left brothers James Gill and Roy Gill III dead, 33-year-old Steven Freeman became the third person to die from the shooting in East Chatham.
The shooting happened about 9:20 p.m. Dec. 25, Chicago Police said. A group of people were gathered on the porch of a home in the 8600 block of South Maryland for a holiday party when someone wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt walked out from an adjacent alley and opened fire before running away.
Freeman, of the 7600 block of South Normal, was shot in the body and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 1:53 a.m. Friday, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
James Gill, 18, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene; and Roy Gill III, 21, was shot multiple times and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died, authorities said.
A 35-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Christ, where he was initially listed in critical condition, police said. A 27-year-old man and 21-year-old woman both suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and were taken to Stroger, where their conditions were stabilized. A 39-year-old man shot in the foot later showed up at Roseland Community Hospital in good condition, police said.
“We heard the shots and hit the deck,” a neighbor who asked not to be named said the morning after. “There’s people in and out of that house all the time.”
Litter, including an empty bottle of Ketel One vodka and empty beer cans, was strewn across the lawn near police tape that cordoned off the crime scene.
A police officer guarding the scene said at least five shell casings were recovered as the snow covering a patch of grass outside the home melted.
Area South detectives are investigating, but no one is in custody and no motive is known.
The 8600 block of South Maryland is in an area of bungalows and other single-family homes that Ald. Michelle Harris and other residents describe as “quiet.” Many residents moved there with their families decades ago.
Until the shooting, no gun-related crimes had been reported on the block for more than four years, records show.
“This is not typical for Chatham or Avalon Park,” Harris said. “Chatham is a place I dreamed of living when I was growing up. Everyone wanted to live there. It’s still a beautiful community. … This is just off the chain. I’m deeply saddened. I don’t have the words for it.”
The mass shooting in Chatham was among dozens of violent incidents that left 11 dead and 49 wounded over the Christmas holiday weekend.