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Party Bus Shootings Becoming More Common: 9 Shot Since October

By Joe Ward | April 7, 2016 1:27pm
 Nine people have been shot while riding in party buses in Chicago since October, according to police.
Nine people have been shot while riding in party buses in Chicago since October, according to police.
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Flickr/Tyler Bedgood

CHICAGO — Nine people have been shot while riding in party buses in Chicago since October, according to police.

There have been three shooting incidents involving the boozy party buses in the city in that time frame. Two of the three cases involve multiple people being shot, according to Chicago police and shooting data compiled by DNAinfo Chicago.

Another shooting stemming from a party bus incident didn't result in any injuries, but did lead to the bus driver's arrest after five guns were recovered from the bus in Old Town in December.

Five people were injured in a party bus shooting in South Shore overnight Thursday, according to police. It's the latest shooting involving the buses that have recently come under scrutiny.

At 2:09 a.m., the group was getting off a party bus in the 2200 block of East 70th Place when someone on the street opened fire, said Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.

The driver told reporters outside of Jackson Park Hospital that there were about 30 people on the bus celebrating a man's birthday. He said he was outside the bus helping passengers off and then heard at least 30 shots.

"As soon as the shots [were] fired, I went back into the bus. I turned around and a young lady was under the bus. She said she was shot," he said.

"While they [were] still shooting, I picked her up and put her on the bus and drove off" to Jackson Park Hospital, the driver said.

Two of those shootings have come since Alderman Ed Burke (14th) introduced a city ordinance that would toughen regulations on the buses and the alcohol that is allowed to be consumed on board.

Burke's proposal was in response to a October South Loop shooting that stemmed from a fight that broke out on a party bus.

The ordinance would require that all "charter party" buses, trolleys or limos have alcohol sold by a licensed seller, and that someone 25 or older would be assigned to check the IDs of all aboard to make sure no one under 21 is drinking.

The ordinance has not yet been taken up by the Public Safety Committee, according to City Council records. A spokesman for Burke did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

The recent party bus shooting incidents include:

• Five people were injured after being shot while in a party bus in South Shore Thursday.

A 39-year-old woman was shot while on a party bus in Chatham in January.

Three people were injured in a South Loop shooting that began as a fight in a party bus in October.

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