BACK OF THE YARDS — After a birthday celebration shooting left two people dead and led to an asthma attack that killed a 16-year-old girl running from the gunfire, family members of the victims are trying to piece together the mystery of how the tragedy unfolded.
"I'm lost to words," said Paula Griffin-Golden, the mother of 25-year-old Denzel Childs, who died at Stroger Hospital after someone shot him multiple times in his head, neck and chest. "I'm still numb."
Childs was one of four people shot during a Wednesday night/early Thursday party in the 800 block of West 50th Place in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The celebration honored the life of 21-year-old Shondell "King Dell" Adams, a gang member who died on June 10, 2012, when a rival shot him.
Social media posts show his friends celebrate his birthday every year.
RELATED: Teen Girl Dies of Asthma Attack After Seeing 2 People Shot
At 12:18 a.m., police said, someone fired shots at four people standing on the street and sidewalk.
It's unclear what exactly led to the fatal gunfire, but some family members say it started with an argument.
"Everything was going OK until there was an altercation over a parking spot," Griffin-Golden said. "That's all I know."
As gunfire echoed down the block, 16-year-old Jessica Williams tried to run away. A rush of adrenaline from seeing the shooting and the night's brutal humidity brought on a severe asthma attack, her family said. An emergency crew brought to Roseland Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A 33-year-old woman, identified as Kayana Q. Armond, was shot in her neck and taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. A 21-year-old woman was shot in her hand and taken to St. Bernard Hospital, and a 25-year-old woman was hit twice in her back and was taken to Stroger Hospital. Their conditions were not available, but they were listed as "stable," police said.
Denzel Childs — a 25-year-old father of two — was pronounced dead at 1:20 a.m., according to Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
ABC7 reported that Childs may have been the guy who started the fight. A witness told the news station Childs wouldn't let a group of girls save a parking spot for a friend. Then an argument broke out and Childs reportedly pulled out a gun and fired at the girls.
"The guy who shot her started to walk away, and somebody cold-cocked his ass," a witness told DNAinfo Chicago.
The shooter fell to the ground, his head hanging off a curb, the witness said. That's when another man pulled out a gun and shot the man five times in his head.
Childs and the 25-year-old woman shot in her back are documented gang members, police said. But Griffin-Golden said her son was not a gang member and there is no way he had a gun at the party.
"That's not true," she said.
She said Childs, one of three boys, was an Army veteran with two children of his own: A 5-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old boy.
"Make sure they know he loved his family," Griffin-Golden said. "He loved his children. He loved everybody that was around."
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