8 wounded outside Gary concert

GARY | Police said they are looking today for witnesses to identify one or more gunmen who fired into a crowd of teenagers Friday night wounding eight outside a Gary skating rink.

"There may be some kids out there who know something," Gary police Cpl. Gabrielle King said Saturday night.

She said police were so busy tending to victims they were unable to talk to many teenagers milling around the parking lot of World of Skates in the chaos following the shooting. Gunfire erupted about 11:45 p.m. Friday at the Commons Shopping Plaza, near Fifth Avenue and Clark Road on the city's west side, when a concert at the rink was abruptly canceled.

"A fight broke out, and when they couldn't get the crowd under control, the owner or manager opted to shut it down and told everybody to leave," King said. "There were a lot of people and apparently some weren't happy when they were told to disperse."

She said the victims were walking to their cars when they heard the sound of gunfire. "They have no idea who shot them or where the shots were coming from. All the teenagers who were shot said they heard guns and realized they had been hit."

King identified the victims as: DaVonte Biddings, 16; Justin Bodley, 16; Marquel Crook, 16; Stephan Danzy, 17; Shaquille Hughes, 15; Kesean Philon, 14; Marcus Ratliff, 14; and Junan Washington, 18. King said there was one victim from Merrillville. The rest are Gary residents.

The eight were rushed to the Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago and St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers in Hammond. Calls to the hospitals for comment were not returned.

King said some victims remained hospitalized Saturday. They suffered leg, wrist, stomach and back wounds.

"It appears none of the injuries are going to be life-threatening," she said.

A man who answered the phone at World of Skates on Saturday afternoon said the manager would comment later, but no one answered the phone afterward.

The rink opened in 2002 and offers skating for adults and teens Wednesday through Sunday, including a gospel skate Thursday evenings.

King said anyone with information about the crime should call Detective Jeff Hemphill at (219) 881-7438.