​Teen Dies From Asthma After Witnessing Chicago Shooting

CHICAGO, IL - Gunfire in Chicago is the cause of several hundred deaths every year, but the most recent victim wasn’t even shot.

16-year-old Jessica Williams was celebrating the life of a fallen cousin late Wednesday night into Thursday morning in the city’s Back of the Yards neighborhood when she witnessed a shooting that took the lives of two others. While she was running from the frightening scene, Williams collapsed and died from an asthma attack.

Family members told DNAinfo Chicago reporters that Williams wasn’t suffering from any asthma-like symptoms before the party, but the trauma of witnessing the shooting unfold coupled with the adrenaline she felt while trying to escape and the intense humidity in Chicago overnight led to the attack.

Various media reports indicate the shooting took place just after midnight in the 800 block of West 50th Street. Someone fired a series of shots at four people standing on the sidewalk at the party. A 33-year-old woman and 25-year-old man died and the other two victims were hospitalized.

DNAinfo reports the shooter was also killed by a series of revenge gun shots.

A Chicago Sun-Times report estimates that between 75 and 100 people were in attendance at the party remembering the life of Shondell Adams, Williams’ cousin who was killed by a rival gang member in 2012.

Williams, an incoming sophomore at the Chicago Vocational Career Academy, was taken to Saint Bernard Hospital and pronounced dead, according to NBC.

She was active in school as a cheerleader and a member of CVCA’s ROTC program.