CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Two Venezuelan asylum-seekers were shot this week while standing outside a Chicago police station, according to multiple reports.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that 28-year-old Yerlianny Romero was holding her young son outside the South Side station when shots were fired from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. She suffered a wound to the buttocks.
A man, also a migrant from Venezuela, was struck in his right thigh, according to the Sun-Times.
A suspect, 25-year-old Anthony Evans, was arrested after fleeing the scene and charged with eight felony counts, including two for aggravated battery and two for aggravated DUI, Block Club Chicago reports.
Chicago has been trying to find housing alternatives for migrants, many of whom have been staying at police stations and at the city’s two airports.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has proposed winterized base camps to house the influx of migrants sent to the city by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Few details of those base camps, including locations, have been released.
More than 15,000 migrants have arrived in the city since the end of August 2022.