5 People Shot, 1 Killed In Rockford
ROCKFORD, Ill. (CBS) -- Five people were shot, and one of them was killed, at a gas station parking lot in Rockford Wednesday night.
The shooting happened around 7:10 p.m. outside a Way-Lo gas station in the 3000 block of West State Street at Vista Terrace in Rockford.
More From CBS Affiliate WIFR-TV in Rockford
One of the victims was pronounced dead, and the others were hospitalized, according to Rockford police Chief Daniel O'Shea. One was in critical condition, while the others were believed to have suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said.
O'Shea noted to reporters that violent crime has been trending upward in Rockford, with multiple shootings and a couple of murders recently.
"It's very disheartening, because we had been doing so well for the last three years, four years, going downward," he said.
Police also face an additional challenge amid the coronavirus pandemic, since they cannot meet with community groups and can only talk to people from a distance and through masks, O'Shea said.
Still, he urged the public to step up.
"Let's get these idiots off the streets of Rockford, and get rid of people with no regard for life, and put them in prison where they belong," O'Shea said.
