Police say an 18-year-old man is fighting for his life after a “targeted shooting” that left him critically wounded and a 19-year-old man dead in Zion Thursday morning.
The Zion Fire Rescue Department, Winthrop Harbor Fire Department and Zion Police Department responded around 7:57 a.m. Thursday to the 2500 block of Gilead Avenue in Zion for a report of a shooting.
Zion Police Department Lt. Derek Zaloudek said dispatchers received several 911 calls reporting gunfire.
Officers on patrol nearby also heard the gunfire and responded to the area.
Emergency crews arrived to find two males who had been shot at a residence, according to Zion Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Rocco Campanella.
Fire department radio indicated both victims were unconscious and not breathing at the scene.
Campanella said paramedics transported both victims, who were in critical condition, to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
Both victims appeared to have been shot multiple times and were lying in the yard of the home, Campanella said.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said one of the victims was pronounced dead in the emergency room of the hospital.
Zaloudek said the deceased victim was a 19-year-old Waukegan man.
The second victim, whose injuries were described as critical, was undergoing surgery in an attempt to save him, Zaloudek said Thursday afternoon.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force responded to the scene with evidence technicians to assist the Zion Police Department in the investigation.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has not released the identity of the deceased victim.
An autopsy was expected to be performed Thursday, Newton said.
Zaloudek said the Zion Police Department Investigations Division and Street Crimes Unit are actively investigating the homicide.
“While specific information cannot be shared, our department is confident that this was a targeted event and that there is no risk to the greater public,” he said.
Anyone with information that would aid in the investigation is asked to contact the Zion Police Department at 847-872-8000 and ask to speak to a member of the Investigations Division.