'Virtually No Possibility' Gunshots Fired Inside Park: Sox Owner

CHICAGO — The mystery of how two women sustained gunshot wounds at a Chicago White Sox game last week took another turn as Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf seemed to contradict a theory by Chicago police that the shot came from inside Guaranteed Rate Field.

Reinsdorf, who rarely speaks with reporters, told a small group of beat writers on Friday that he believes there is “virtually no possibility” that the shots that injured a 26-year-old woman and a 42-year-old woman came from inside the ballpark.

The two women were injured during the fourth inning of the Aug. 25 game between the White Sox and Oakland Athletics. One of the women sustained a gunshot wound to her leg and another woman was grazed in the abdomen by a bullet, police said. Interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller said earlier this week that police had “nearly dispelled” the possibility that the gunshots came from outside of the ballpark.

Yet, Reinsdorf said Thursday that he spoke at length with Waller this week about the incident and that he believes the shooting did happen inside the ballpark. He said that Waller authorized him to tell reporters that police have not ruled out any possibility about how the shooting took place.

An ESPN 1000 report this week said that one of the women injured in the incident had brought the gun into the ballpark and had hidden it in between rolls of belly fat. No one has been charged in the incident and reports have indicated that the woman who reportedly brought the gun into the park has her FOID card and is a season ticket holder.

Chicago Public Schools confirmed this week that one of the women injured in the incident is a teacher in the district.

Reinsdorf, who covered a number of topics in a 30-minute press conference designed to announce the promotion of new general manager Chris Getz, said he did not want to comment too much on an incident that remains an open investigation by Chicago Police.

"They haven't come to a final conclusion, but we have done a lot of investigation. We have gathered a lot of facts, and, without getting into detail because I don't want to influence the police's decision, but the fact is based upon the information available to us, I see virtually no possibility that the gunshots came from within the ballpark,” Reinsdorf told reporters on Thursday. “It's totally safe to be in this ballpark. I don't think a gun has ever gotten past our security. I think ultimately that will come out. I'm hopeful the police will finish their investigation as soon as possible."