Calumet City House Party Shooting - A 19-year-old young man was killed and up to 7 other people sustained injuries after shots rang out during a fight at a house party in Escanaba Avenue on Sunday morning.
Dewayne Purnell was just 9 days away from leaving for the military, according to his father Donald Purnell. The teenager, who recently graduated from Thornton Fractional North High School, was to report at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
"I got him through high school. I did everything I could. I tried to keep him safe till it was time to go," Purnell, who revealed that he kept a close watch of his son's movement, said. "I let him go out one night and I'm never going to see him again."
Local sources say several teens (some below 18), who had crowded in the basement of a home on 619 Escanaba for a clandestine party, started running out frantically after they claimed gun shots had been fired at the gathering.
Police Chief Ed Gilmore has revealed that there was an argument and a fight before the Calumet City house party shooting occurred sometime before 2:00 a.m.
Dewanyne Purnell was shot multiple times. It is unclear how many shooters there were. It is also unclear if Dewanyne was directly involved in the fight that led to the Calumet City house party shooting.
Dewayne was rushed to Indiana's Franciscan St. Margaret Health where he was pronounced dead at 2:37 a.m. Locals say the Escanaba home, where the shooting took place, is notorious for being used to throw parties for underage kids. Reports indicate that there were stripper poles inside the house.
Chief Gilmore says the use of the home for illegal parties had not been reported to the local police prior to this incident. Nonetheless, the owner of the house is reportedly in custody and is being questioned about the incident. There are speculations that the shooting was gang-related, but the police have not made any comments about this claim.
The Calumet City house party shooting has shaken up the local community. Neighbors of the Purnells, who have expressed shock at the death of Dewayne, say he was a good kid, who stayed out of trouble.
The Calumet City house party shooting is being investigated by both the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and the Calumet City Police.
