EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (WLS) — Two men were killed in a shooting early Sunday outside a bar in Northwest Indiana, police said.
East Chicago police said ShotSpotter technology alerted officers to dozens of rounds fired just before 2 a.m. Sunday near OJ’s Game Over Bar along 151st Street. Police said a 20-year-old man and a 36-year-old man died in the shooting.
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Bullet holes could be seen in the windows of vehicles and homes in the area following the gunfire.
A woman who lives behind the bar, Audrey DeAvila, said she heard the shots and rushed outside to help the victims before police arrived.
“It was uncalled for, it was unnecessary and it was so wasteful. So wasteful. Two lives, are you serious? For what?” DeAvila said.
DeAvila said she and another woman tried to save one of the victims.
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“Me and his girlfriend were trying to stop the blood, try to apply pressure. We tried CPR. We tried, and that poor baby. He was so young,” she said.
Police said more than 30 rounds were fired during the incident. Investigators also recovered two semiautomatic handguns that were found on the ground next to the victims’ bodies.
The motive remains unclear, according to police. East Chicago Police Chief Jose Rivera said the shooting endangered residents in the neighborhood.
“No respect was given. That’s a residential area. Several vehicles. Several homes,” Rivera said.
DeAvila described the emotional moments as she tried to help one of the victims.
“The only prayer I could think of was Hail Mary, and I said it with him because you could literally see the life circling in this man’s eyes. Why? For what? Over crazy words,” she said.
Police are asking residents to review home surveillance video from the area and share any information that could assist investigators. No arrests have been made as the Joint Agency Homicide Task Force continues to investigate.
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