Two men have been shot dead by a fast food worker following an argument inside a restaurant in Chicago, according to authorities.
An altercation broke out at a JJ Fish and Chicken in Ashburn just before 10.30pm ET on Monday evening, the Chicago Police Department said.
A male employee allegedly then opened fire with a handgun inside the restaurant, fatally shooting two men – aged 55 and 56 – in the head.
The suspect fled before police arrived.
Both victims – who are yet to be identified – were pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the argument and the gunman’s motives remain unclear and no arrests have been made.
Detectives were at the restaurant gathering evidence early on Tuesday morning, according to local news station WGN9.
“It’s a sad statement for the city, a sad statement for the community, a sad statement for all of us in a sense, two people lose their lives to gun violence at once,” Street pastor Donovan Price told CBS News Chicago.
The Independent has contacted the CPD and JJ Fish and Chicken for more information.
The shooting comes as Chicago’s murder is slowly declining, with criminal complaints down by eight percent so far this year compared with the same period in 2023, according to the CPD’s latest data.
The fatal shooting occurred just days after one of two men convicted of shooting a boy dead at another JJ Fish and Chicken in Milwaukee was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision last week.
Javontae Jones, 18, was sentenced on October 2 after pleading guilty to first-degree reckless homicide in August for shooting dead a 17-year-old at an outlet 100 miles north of Tuesday’s attack on January 1 2023.
Jones’s cousin, Jeffrey Coleman, is scheduled to be sentenced later this month after also pleading guilty to first-degree reckless homicide.
The two men had entered the restaurant and opened fire on the victim – who remains anonymous – as he walked into the restaurant, according to a criminal complaint. The victim returned fire resulting in “numerous gunshots,” authorities said.
