5 shot on party bus in South Shore, driver praised

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Five people were wounded in a shooting early Thursday in the South Shore neighborhood.

The shooting happened about 2:10 a.m. in the 2200-block of 70th Place, police said.

A 29-year-old man was shot in the right leg and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said. A 22-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the right hand and a 22-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the right foot were taken to Jackson Park Hospital by the party bus driver. A 22-year-old man was shot in the chest and leg and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital. All of their conditions were stabilized.

A 30-year-old man was also shot in the right arm, but details about his condition and which hospital he was taken to weren't immediately available.

Police say passengers aboard a party bus were in the process of being dropped off when a gunman on the street approached the bus and opened fire.

"When I looked out the window, that's I saw all the commotion, I saw the party bus speed off," said Jacqueline Davis.

The bus company's Facebook page said the shooting happened while dropping people off from a birthday party. The post continued," Access Granted Chicago would like to personally thank the driver for going above and beyond his call of duty to save the lives of our guests."

"The incident did not occur because of the party on the bus," said Jessica Johnson of Access Granted Chicago. "No one on the bus was armed."

Driver Jonavin Williams is being hailed as something of a hero for his efforts to help his passengers. He says it all happened so fast.

"It was just instinct, I mean, people's lives were in danger, I was trying to get my life out of danger, so I just did what I had to do," Williams said.

The quick thinking father of three drove some of the wounded to a nearby hospital. And though it was a scary experience, he says it won't change his feelings about his job.

"I love my job," he said. "So it's not really a problem for me. I'll go to work today. So, you know, it's just life."

"I think that it's time for us, as a community and the city of Chicago, to galvanize and put an end to this senseless gunfire," said Lord Blumenberg, who witnessed the shooting.

Blumenberg pointed out who holes in nearby buildings where bullets strayed. He says it is sad that a fun birthday party turned into a shootout.

Police say the gunman is still at large and any information about who he is should be relayed to the police.