Three men killed at drag racing event in Wisconsin, Sunday, were gang members possibly targeted by rival
Three men killed at drag racing event in Wisconsin were gang members possibly targeted by rival
Derek K. Edwards, Khalid R. Howard and David L. Watson were killed at a drag racing event Aug 14, in Wisconsin
Watson, 30, Howard, 30, and 26-year-old Edwards all from Illinois, were fatally shot near a concession area in the parking lot of the Great Lakes Dragaway on Sunday night
Authorities have identified three Illinois men they say were gang members who were fatally shot at a southern Wisconsin race track.
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office said Monday the victims of Sunday night’s shooting – David L. Watson, 30, Khalid R. Howard, 30, and 26-year-old Derek K. Edwards all from Illinois, were fatally shot near a concession area in the parking lot of the Great Lakes Dragaway on Sunday night.
Addressing a news conference, Sheriff David Beth said the gunman who assassinated three Illinois men at a southern Wisconsin race track shot two of the victims at close range, followed the third as he tried to run away and shot him, then returned to the other two and shot them a second time.
The killer is still at large.
Beth says the three victims are gang members from in and around Aurora, Illinois. The motivation behind the murders remains unknown. Sheriff Beth said the shooting was done point blank in a concession area in the parking lot of the raceway where some 15,000 people had gathered for a car show and drag race.
![Derek Edwards [left], Khalid Howard [center], and David Watson .jpg](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/derek-edwards-left-khalid-howard-center-and-david-watson1.jpg?resize=620%2C348&ssl=1)
Derek Edwards [left], Khalid Howard [center], and David Watson were all shot at a drag racing event on Sunday night in Wisconsin. Police said the known gangsters were executed by a rival gang
The gunman initially shot two of the men, and shot the third as he tried to get away around a tent. He then returned and shot the two others a second time, according to authorities.
“He had enough time and enough arrogance to go back up and actually make sure that they were dead,” Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said Monday during a press conference.
Howard, 30, and Edwards, 26, died at the scene and the 30-year-old Watson died on the way to a hospital. Their families are not cooperating with investigators.
“A lot of people may not have wanted to come up and talk to the sheriff’s department initially because maybe they were afraid someone was going to see them,” Beth said. “So what I’m hoping happens is someone who knows what’s going on or saw what happened will call us, give us more information and help us catch the individual who did this.”
Emergency response vehicles gather at Great Lakes Dragaway on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, near Union Grove, Wis.
The suspect is believed to be a black man in his mid-20s wearing either a black hoodie or white T-shirt, with hair shaved on the sides of his head and grown out at the top. He was reportedly seen fleeing on foot through a crowd and may have left the Dragaway in a black vehicle, Beth said.
Authorities are still seeking a motive, but say the victims have all been identified as gang members: “I don’t know if this is retaliation. I don’t know if this was family trouble. I don’t know,” the sheriff said.
The Great Lakes Dragaway is located in the town of Paris, approximately 30 miles south of Milwaukee.
“This is pretty distressing. It’s a beautiful, sunny night. There’s a lot of families out … I can see several children here,” Sheriff Beth said after the shootings.
“I’d feel a lot better — if there’s a way to feel better about this — if we had the suspect in custody, or we knew more about who this was.”
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