2 Shot, 2 Others Injured After Anthony's Restaurant Parking Lot Brawl: Police

JOLIET, IL — A 25-year-old Joliet woman and a 31-year-old Joliet man each suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds over the weekend, another woman was knocked out in a fight and a third woman was stabbed in her face. Their injuries came after a disturbance began outside the Anthony's Restaurant & Pub early Sunday, in the 3100 block of Voyager Lane, near the Louis mall, according to Joliet police. Additionally, a handful of parked vehicles were sprayed with gunfire, police said.

The trouble occurred at the site of the former Samy's Bar, which closed in 2013 after numerous liquor license violations. According to Joliet police, a large crowd of customers from Anthony's gathered outside around 2:40 a.m. on Sunday. Eventually the incident spilled over across the street toward the Toys R Us parking lot. At some point, a 35-year-old woman from Minooka was stabbed on her right cheek and a 26-year-old Joliet woman was knocked out, police said. "It appears that this all started in the parking lot of Anthony's," said Deputy Police Chief Edgar Gregory on Monday.

From there, things grew dangerous. "That's when an unknown black male started firing a handgun," Gregory said.

A 25-year-old Joliet woman and a 31-year-old Joliet man were shot. The man suffered a graze wound while the young woman suffered gunshot wounds to her legs, police said.

The two people involved in the shooting incident were described as black men, Gregory said. One was about 5-foot-11. He wore a red Polo shirt. His accomplice was closer to 5-foot-6, wearing a black T-shirt.

Information about their suspected getaway vehicle was not immediately available.

Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening, police said. Two of the four victims were taken by ambulance to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center for treatment.

Investigators are now trying to obtain surveillance video from area mall businesses in hopes of unmasking the identity of the shooter and his partner.

"We are still actively investigating this case right now," Gregory said Monday.

This marks the second major late-night shooting incident this year outside Anthony's Restaurant. Back in February, Joliet Patch reported that bullets were flying during a fight that broke out in the parking lot outside of Anthony's. In that incident, a 5-foot-7 man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and possibly sporting a goatee pulled out a pistol in the parking lot around 12:30 a.m. He fired gunshots into the air and ran to a getaway car waiting for him, firing off several more rounds of ammunition before fleeing.

From that incident, Joliet police recovered five shell casings in the parking lot, and one bullet struck the front window of Anthony's. Police Chief Brian Benton said this week that it's his understanding that nobody has been arrested in connection with February's shooting incident.

File image via Patch