Three gang members shot dead at point-blank range during Wisconsin drag race, authorities say
Three men died after they were shot at point-blank range during a car race attended by thousands in Wisconsin, authorities said.
The shooting happened around 7 p.m. Sunday at Great Lakes Dragaway 30 miles outside of Milwaukee. The three victims had walked up to a food vendor in the parking area when a man shot them “at a very close range,” Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told reporters during a news conference.
Sgt. Mark Malecki, of the sheriff’s department, said the victims were gang members, though he said he cannot discuss what led authorities to believe so. Investigators are determining whether the suspect is a member of a rival gang.
“They were distinct targets in the attack,” Malecki told The Washington Post. “This is not a random act of violence.”
The suspect remains at large and has not been identified. Authorities describe him as a thin and athletic man between 20 and 30 years old. He has scruffy hair, and his head is shaved on the side. Investigators do not know yet what type of weapon he used. Witnesses said he ran after the shooting and got in a vehicle, according to the sheriff’s department.
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“Usually when something like this happens, the people involve talk … What I’m hoping happens is someone who knows what’s going on or saw what happened would call us, give us more information and help us catch the person who did this,” Beth told reporters.
The victims were 30-year-old David L. Watson, of Oswego, Ill.; 30-year-old Khalid R. Howard, of Aurora, Ill.; and 26-year-old Derek K. Edwards, of North Aurora, Ill. All had multiple gunshot wounds, Malecki said.
Howard and Edwards died immediately, while Oswego died on the way to the hospital, authorities said.
No one else was hurt.
The event, called Larry’s Fun Fest, drew more than 5,000 people from Milwaukee, Chicago and surrounding areas, according to the sheriff’s department. The Great Lakes Dragaway’s website describes it as Wisconsin’s biggest tailgating and racing event for families.
Beth said he does not recall shootings happening at Great Lakes Dragaway before.
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“This is pretty distressing. It’s a beautiful, sunny night. There’s a lot of families out … I can see several children here,” Beth said. “I’d feel a lot better — if there’s a way to feel better about this — if we had the suspect in custody, or we knew more about who this was.”
The Great Lakes Dragaway is a quarter mile dragstrip located in the middle of farmland in Union Grove, Wis., just 30 miles from Milwaukee and 70 miles from Chicago. It hosts a variety of auto racing events that attract drag-race enthusiasts from the Midwest.
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