Fatal Shooting in Chicago’s Park Manor Leaves 2 Dead and Multiple Wounded

Chicago police were called out to a mass shooting at a party on the South Side. An assailant opened fire at a party in the Park Manor towing company building, killing two and injuring at least many others in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to police reports on March 14, 2021.

Since Friday, March 12, Chicago’s violent crimes report indicates 38 people were shot and five killed, including the tragic event in the Park Manor neighborhood.

In a statement, police officials said one of those present at the “pop-up party” began to fire a weapon inside the building. Many partygoers were still on the scene, and it was chaotic when officials arrived.

Officers and firefighters responded to the shooting report at 6798 S. South Chicago Avenue. The mass shooting occurred at about 4:40 a.m. CT Sunday. Their report states, “the location is a garage/tow yard with an attached duplex apartment, which was converted to a bar/party area.

Upon arrival, they discovered a woman outside the building who was shot three times — once in the head. She has been identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as 30-year-old Rayneesha Dotson.

They later located a second shooting victim inside a backroom, 39-year-old Lionel Darling, who succumbed to gunshot wounds to his neck and leg. Both victims were pronounced dead on the scene at 4:55 a.m., according to Natalia Derevyanny, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown gave a brief news conference at 9:30 a.m. He stated there were four guns recovered at the scene — one outside and three inside the building. Area One detectives are in the process of investigating and collecting statements, but several of the witnesses who were wounded were still in surgery at the time.

Brown said detectives were following up on numerous leads and have not determined the motive behind the shooting. They were, however, interviewing a person of interest. Some unconfirmed preliminary reports state the shooting incident was “gang-related.”

It is unclear how many people opened fire. Men and women injured during the mass shooting range in age between 20 and 44. Ambulances took eight adults to area hospitals. Their conditions ranged from serious to critical.

Written by Cathy Milne-Ware

Sources:

ABC News: 2 killed in Park Manor mass shooting on South Side ID’d, multiple others wounded; by Jesse Kirsch and Michelle Gallardo
Chicago Tribune: 2 people who were fatally shot have been identified in South Side mass shooting that left 13 others injured at ‘pop-up party,’ Chicago police say; by Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, William Lee, and Rosemary Sobol

Featured and Top Image by Chicago Police Fire Department – Used With Permission