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Shooting near Bud Billiken Parade: 'I am tired of this'
A family has a cookout while a Chicago Police officer stands on the scene of a shooting near the 4200 block of South King Drive during the Bud Billiken Parade. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)
By Lisa Black, Deanese Williams-Harris and Carlos Sadovi,
Tribune reporters
ShootingsCrimeLaw EnforcementPublic TransportationIllinois GovernorPublic Transportation DisastersChicago Transit Authority
A man was shot this afternoon near the Bud Billiken Parade
Thousands of people turned out for the annual Bud Billiken Parade Saturday, a day to celebrate the start-up of school with dancers, marching bands, political floats and outdoor grilling.
Only this year -- for the first time that anyone could remember in the event’s 85-year history -- the shooting of two teenagers just off the parade's main route sent some families running for cover -- and left others angry that this longtime African-American tradition had been violated.
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"Me and my kids, we hit the ground," said Barbara Sims, whose family always watches the parade from the corner of South Martin Luther King Drive and 42nd Street. With red police tape cordoning off an area behind her, she described how she saw about a dozen teenagers gang up on the two young men who police said ended up being shot after someone in the scuffle drew a gun.
"My granddaughter was trampled," said Sims, adding that another child hit his head on a pole while trying to run away. A lawn chair nearby was twisted and broken. The parade was still carrying on along South King Drive while police searched the area shortly after the shooting; people were chanting, "Put the guns down."
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The shooting was reported at around 12:40 p.m., said Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala. One victim, 18, was shot in the left arm and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition, officials said. A 17-year-old was shot in the right hand and sustained a graze wound to his buttocks, said News Affairs officer Thomas Sweeney. His condition was stabilized at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
Another shooting that appeared to be self-inflicted was reported a few blocks west of the parade on a Green Line "L" line platform, police said.
Osiris Johnson, his parents and 8-year-old twin daughters packed up their cooler and left early, shaken up after the shots rang out near them.
They left because "of people who don't know how to be civilized. It's a shame we must feel like that in our own neighborhood," Johnson said. "It was right around my babies. It's time for a change. I am tired of this."
His father, Marvin Johnson, added: "Man, we were right there. ... I am just thanking the Lord we weren't shot."
The shooting marred an otherwise pitch-perfect day for a parade, whose participants included Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican election opponent Bruce Rauner.
Sponsored by Chicago Defender Charities, Inc., the parade has drawn generations of families to the city's Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side since 1929. Jesse White's Tumblers and the South Shore Drill team are among the annual highlights, observers said.
"We've never had any violence there," said Beverly Reed Scott, parade director. She declined to comment on the shooting, saying she had not received confirmation from police that it had occurred along the parade route.
"We had a tremendous turnout for the 85th anniversary," said Scott, who described crowds six deep.
"Bud Billiken" is a fictional character created by Robert S. Abbott, founder of the Chicago Defender newspaper. As the story goes, he started the parade to thank the children who delivered his newspaper. He picked the name "Billiken" for a Chinese figurine that symbolized attention to youth and the importance of education.
Among those who enjoyed Saturday’s event was Yvonne Thompson, 50, who marched in the parade when she was a high school sophomore. Her daughter danced in the parade as a teen, and on Saturday, her granddaughter became the third generation to participate, she said.
"There"s a lot of history, a lot of knowledge and a lot of potential here," Thompson said. "Some kids are not motivated to do anything. The parade brings them out."
But hours before the shooting, she also was thinking about the city's gang problems.
"Chicago, put down the guns," Thompson said. "Put down the guns so the kids can grow up."
In addition to the shooting nearest the parade route, a 22-year-old man was taken in good condition to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County after the self-inflicted shooting on a Green Line "L" platform, said Zala.
The shooting happened at 11:02 a.m. on the platform at 35th Street, said CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase. The man apparently shot himself, according to CTA and police officials.
The man is a documented gang member, police said.
No one else was injured.
lblack@tribune.com | Twitter: @LisaBChiTrib
dawilliams@tribune.com | Twitter: @neacynewslady
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