2 hospitalized after shooting in parking lot at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two people were hospitalized Sunday following a shooting in the front entrance parking lot at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee.
The shooting happened around 7:50 p.m. as the park was closing. Several ambulances were called to the scene.
Police said a white sedan drove into the parking lot and towards the entrance of the park. Police said multiple suspects got out of the car and started shooting at someone in the parking lot.
Police said the suspects then got back into the car and drove away.
Two people, a 17-old boy and a 19-year-old woman, were taken to the hospital with non life threatening injuries and a third person refused treatment.
Video circulating on social media shows parkgoers crouched down and hiding where they had been in line.
Witnesses say they saw other parkgoers running after shots were fired.
"I thought there were fireworks right away. Then we saw hundreds of people running," said Charlie Donda. ""It was pretty scary but we are safe."
Charlie was with his friends and ran to the water park to hide. His father, Brian Donda, said his son did the right thing.
"They did the right thing and knew what to do. They are home smiling and safe," he said.
Nicole Ellsworth was also in the park with her daughter and says the scene was chaotic with people running everywhere.
"People were looking for their kids and crying. Officers ran in with guns drawn," she said.
She says it was unclear immediately after the shooting if it happened inside or outside of the park.
CBS 2's Sabrina Franza spoke with a witness who helped mothers with their strollers inside the park.
"It was people running past saying that they were shooting, so I guess they were running from the front to the back. And were just all started running." said Michelle Smith. "People were falling, I'm trying to help people and their kids."
Employee Jeffery Cowell helped hide some of the visitors after hearing over the radio to close their buildings and make sure team members and guest were safe.
"Kids crying for their mom, mom crying for their kids. It was an experience that I don't want to happen again," he said.
Police tape surrounds four vehicles that remained in the parking lot.
Six Flags is an amusement park located at 1 Great America Parkway in Gurnee.
Visitors of the park undergo thorough screenings including bag checks and walking through metal detectors before entering the park.
In a statement from Six Flags:
"Six Flags dedicates our greatest amount of time, talent and resources to safety and security.
Layers of preventative measures both inside and outside the park are in place for the protection of guests and team members. We continue to review and enhance our protocol on a daily basis to ensure we are providing the highest level of safety.
Cameras placed in the parking lot and inside the park, uniformed and plain clothes patrols throughout the property, and advanced screening technology allow us to react quickly and provide important information. The park security team is joined by the Gurnee Police Department, who operates a substation at the park.
This evening, we are incredibly grateful to our team members who reacted in a professional manner to take care of our guests, and for the Gurnee Police Department for their on-going presence and commitment to Six Flags Great America."
This is the second shooting in a public place where families gather following the Highland Park parade mass shooting last month.
No one is in custody. The investigation is ongoing.
