Evergreen Park, Ill. — On Wednesday afternoon, law enforcement charged 20-year-old Yoseph K. Barnes of Chicago following a shooting at the Walmart Supercenter at 2500 W. 95th Street that left a 23-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman wounded.
Just before 3 p.m., officers were dispatched to reports of an active shooter outside the store. Once on the scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the leg and a woman struck in the foot. The male victim was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition, bleeding heavily after reportedly losing between 3 and 5 liters of blood; the older woman was treated and listed in good condition.
Prosecutors say Barnes was parked in a gray Hyundai nearby when the 23-year-old walked past the car. Barnes allegedly exited, pursued him on foot into the store, and fired multiple rounds. The chase ended in the produce section, where prosecutors say Barnes dropped his weapon after a struggle. In a dramatic turn, the victim picked up the gun as Barnes fled through a fire exit.
A 70-year-old woman inside was struck by a bullet fragment or ricochet—a completely unintended victim, officials say.
Within about 15 minutes after the shooting, police located Barnes hiding in a recycling bin behind a residential home in the 9300 block of Country Club Drive. His vehicle was found later in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.
At his first court appearance Friday, Barnes was ordered held in the Cook County jail pending trial. He’s been formally charged with attempted first-degree murder, and prosecutors say additional charges may follow.
Barnes also has a prior conviction from 2023 for illegal possession of a machine gun and was on parole at the time of the incident, a detail prosecutors emphasized in moving for his detention.
Investigators continue combing through surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses to uncover the motive and what led to the gunfire. For now, police describe the shooting as appearing targeted, though they don’t rule out wider implications.
