Chicago teen left blind in one eye as group terrorized city in Halloween paintball attacks: ‘It was malicious’
A Chicago teen was left blind in one eye when a group of miscreants allegedly drove down her street and targeted their victims with a “high-pressured” paintball gun during a random Halloween attack.
Vicky Murillo, 19, and her friend were followed by a strange car as they walked through the Clearing West community when the vehicle made a U-turn and drove back to the teens, according to WLS.
The crew of paintballers allegedly stuck phones out of the car before they shot a barrage of paintballs at the young women, striking them multiple times.
“They were both on the floor, crying and screaming, their hot chocolate next to them on the floor,” Vicky’s older brother, Adrean, told the outlet.
Murillo and her friend were severely hurt and left bleeding on the ground before paramedics rushed them to a local hospital.
She was admitted to the emergency room, as one of the shots struck her face and ruptured her eye globe, Adrean said on a GoFundMe set up for his sister.
Murillo underwent emergency surgery on her eye, but she has yet to regain vision and left doctors skeptical about whether it may return.
“Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely, and if there’s any vision restored to that eye, it’s going to be extremely blurry,” Adrean told ABC Chicago.
The teen has several surgeries scheduled for her injuries, including one Friday, but the family has to “wait-and-see” on the outcomes and are remaining “as optimistic as we could.”
Murillo says he is frustrated with the senseless crime in his neighborhood as some of his neighbors came forward and revealed they were also shot by paintballs on Halloween.
“That was crazy to me, because they were wearing pink, fluffy things. I don’t know who would target young women like that,” he said.
The random shooting took place in the Clearing West community, roughly two miles west of Chicago Midway Airport.
Murillo’s family was told that two other people were involved in similar incidents around the city on the same night.
Video shared online captured the armed hooligans terrorizing the streets of several Chicagoland neighborhoods with at least one person leaning out the window and firing multiple paintball rounds at their unsuspecting victims.
One clip displayed the unknown shooter drilling several shots at a person waiting at a bus stop, as the victim attempted to evade the high-powered round, according to the video obtained by CBS Chicago.
The mounting evidence from the videos and the similar descriptions of the car reported by the neighbors has led Adrean to believe there was malice intent in the attacks that left his sister hospitalized.
“It was malicious. They knew what they were doing,” the protective brother told the outlet. “I mean, they went out that day specifically for that reason.
“It’s the same car same color, same everything,” he added. “That means this individual has been in this area for some time now.”
Adrean says he has been working with detectives to find the shooter suspected to be responsible for blinding his sister, with the hope of heavy charges being brought against the suspect.
“We want it charged as high as we can get it, because if not, it’s going to be a slap on the wrist,” Murillo said.
