A lazy Sunday afternoon in Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side was disrupted when a man watching a soccer match fired shots at a rival team, injuring three people.
The gunfire erupted as hundreds of soccer and softball players shared the park near Ellsworth Drive and 53rd Street with families out enjoying the sunshine, witnesses and police said.
The shooting occurred after the soccer match turned into a fistfight during which two other people were injured. At least two of the gunshot victims were soccer players involved in the fighting, authorities said.
The players, Jose Mendoza, 26, and his brother, Alejandro Mendoza, 23, were listed in fair condition Sunday evening at Cook County Hospital, said a nursing supervisor.
Two other men were in good condition. Juan Rico, 29, who police said was struck in the head with a softball bat during the fight, and Salvador Gutierrez, 38, who suffered a gunshot wound, were being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Rico’s brother David Rico, 26, who was hit in the head with a bat, was listed in fair condition at Provident Hospital of Cook County, said a hospital supervisor.
A man and a woman picked up by police immediately after the shooting were questioned but released. No one was in custody Sunday evening, although police had interviewed about a dozen people in connection with the shooting, according to Wentworth Area detectives.
Investigators said the violence began at noon when two uniformed teams playing in a soccer game came to blows at the end of the match. A spectator on the sidelines rooting for one team pulled a revolver out of a blue bag and fired at players on the rival team, authorities said.
The unidentified man reloaded his gun and fired more shots, according to witnesses. Police said a soccer player in a black and white uniform hit several players with a bat.
The two attackers left the park in a burgundy Nissan Maxima, according to several witnesses. By the time police arrived, all of the players on both teams had cleared the area.
“At this point, this appears to have grown out of a boxing match between two teams,” said a Wentworth Area violent crimes detective who did not want to give his name.
The officer stood amid several squad cars parked in right field of a softball diamond next to the soccer field. As investigators secured the area and searched for evidence, players in bright uniforms continued playing 16-inch softball.
Arthur Lewis, 28, said he was warming up with his Hit & Run adult softball team when the shooting erupted.
Lewis said he was not concerned when the brawl broke out between the players because “They fight all the time . . . with bats and chairs. That’s common.”
Nora Moreno, spokeswoman for the Chicago Park District, called the shooting an unusual occurrence. Moreno said she had heard of no complaints about excessive fighting during soccer matches.
“We want people to be in the parks engaging in positive activity,” Moreno said. “Obviously, anytime people behave in a violent way, we call the police.”
She said it was unclear whether the teams involved were affiliated with the Park District or part of an independent league.