Teen Paralyzed In Party Shooting Hopes For Help From Witnesses

ZION, IL — Police are looking for the person who fired the shots that paralyzed an 18-year-old woman outside a party in Zion earlier this month. Deanna Gibson, a recent graduate of North Chicago High School, was hit by a bullet that passed through her arm and lungs before striking her spine, the Lake County News-Sun reported. Gibson had been leaving a party with her 15-year-old-sister when the gunfire started.

Zion police arrived shortly after midnight to find large numbers of teens and young people fleeing the party in the 2900 block of Ezra Avenue. A preliminary investigation suggested someone had fired several shots at partygoers as they stood behind a home, police said. Gibson was taken Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in serious condition. She was the only person injured in the incident.

Now learning how to transfer herself in and out of the wheelchair she must use, Gibson told the News-Sun she remembers someone starting to shoot shortly before she passed out.

"I just heard a ringing in my ears. It was very close. I fell to the ground and everything went numb,” she said. “I was pulling on the grass to get away.”

Gibson's mother Crystal Garcia, who works one of her two jobs at Naval Station Great Lakes, started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the initial costs of the specialized care her daughter now needs.

Police have not yet made any arrests in connection with the case. Gibson told the paper she knows people witnessed her shooting, and she asked anyone with information about what happened to go to police.

"This is a tragedy," Zion Police Deputy Chief Kirk Henderson told the News-Sun, describing Gibson as an innocent bystander. "We could definitely need some help on this. People need to do the right thing."

Police said anyone with information about the incident can leave tips anonymously with Zion police at 847-872-8000 or with Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222.

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