The attack happened around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 1400-block of West 79th Street in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. Two men ran inside the Bishop Golden store and opened fire before running out and getting into a silver SUV. That vehicle was found abandoned not far from the scene.
Shawndell Harris, 22, was killed in the shooting. Four others were in critical condition, and a fifth victim was in good condition. One of the shooters was using a TEC-9 type of gun.
"I don't have all of the details at this time," Wade said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers are with all involved, including my nephew and sister. Having grown up in the inner-city, I am aware of the difficult realities that exist on the streets. One of the goals of my foundation, the Wade's World Foundation, is to spread the message that the violence needs to stop."
Detectives are looking at video surveillance footage from the convenience store, hoping to identify the suspects and to prevent any possible retaliation.
"A terrible tragedy, clearly gang related, and we're looking to prevent the next event from happening based on our intelligence that we've gathered," said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.
Neighborhood residents say the convenience store attracts gangs and drugs and has for years.
"I think it needs to be closed down because of all the activity that goes around," said neighbor Shayla Downing.
"The police have done undercover stings," said Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st Ward. "It used to be a sandwich shop, they found them to be selling illegal drugs, shut them down, and now it's opened up as a convenience store."
Alex Marshal is the co-owner of the store. He disputes those allegations and claims he has reported anything suspicious.
"Some guys in the neighborhood, they keep hanging out in front of the store," he told ABC7. "We call the police on them all the time. Police come whenever they want to, actually."
The motive of the shooting is unclear, but authorities say it is gang related and they are confident they will catch those involved.
"We've made a lot of progress," said Supt. McCarthy. "We have a lot of very promising leads. There's evidence that's been recovered."
Father Pfleger gathered with the crowd that formed after the shooting Thursday.
"There is massive traffic on 79th Street at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. People on the street saw it, and people saw it in their cars," he said. "People need to come forward now. If you really care about black kids getting shot, open your mouth."
Detectives are still investigating a motive, but police say at least one of the victims may have been selling drugs near the store earlier in the day. Witnesses say they heard at least a dozen gunshots in relation to the crime.
All of the victims were all males between the ages of 16 and 26 years old.
The store shooting was only part of a night of violence in the city that left two people dead and 11 injured in total.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday, authorities say 31-year-old David Gully was fatally shot in the head across the street from his home.
At about 10:30 p.m., police say four people standing in a parking lot on Chicago's West Side were wounded when a gunman fired at them from a car driving by.
Authorities say two other men were wounded in separate shootings -- one in the leg and one in the buttocks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
