A shooting near Chester’s Subaru Park left 7 people wounded, according to police

A shooting near Subaru Park in Chester, the home of the Philadelphia Union, left seven people wounded on Sunday evening, according to police.

Officers were dispatched to one of the stadium’s parking lots at Front and Norris Streets for reports of gunfire at 11:21 p.m., Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky said Monday.

There, the officers found a female victim shot once in her hand. The officers were told by people on the scene that six other people had been taken to local hospitals in private vehicles for gunshot wounds, Gretsky said. One of the victims, a 17-year-old boy, was listed in critical condition Monday. Further details on the other victims were not available.

The motive for the shooting remained unclear. Gretsky said the group had gathered in the area to celebrate Memorial Day when the gunfire erupted.

The group was initially formed by dozens of high-school-aged teens, celebrating the holiday and school ending in a few weeks, officials said. Some of the victims appeared to have been injured as they attempted to flee from the gunfire.

Hours earlier, the Union’s backup squad had played a game against counterparts from the Columbus Crew, but Gretsky said it didn’t appear that the people involved in the shooting had attended the game. The parking lot where the shooting occurred had not been open for the match.

The team, in a statement Monday, said it was “saddened by the gun violence” and urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Chester Police.

A source with knowledge of the situation said the Union and the city of Chester are working to reduce or eliminate public access to lot A, where the shooting occurred, from dusk to dawn.

This would affect a public park that runs along the Delaware River from the southern edge of the lot to a boat ramp at the southeastern corner of Subaru Park, just past the underside of the Commodore Barry Bridge. That park traditionally has not been closed at night, but it may be now.

Staff writer Jonathan Tannenwald contributed to this article.