Four Wounded, One Killed In Wicker Park Mass Shooting
By Mary Chappell and Steven Graves
CHICAGO (CBS) — After months of what business owners called unruly behavior in the area, a man was killed and four others wounded in a mass shooting along a bustling stretch of Wicker Park early Sunday, police said.
Shots were fired in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue — near dozens of shops and restaurants — at about 3:40 a.m. by an unknown offender in a dark-colored vehicle, authorities said.
Video obtained from a nearby business shows the chaos after the shooting as paramedics loaded a victim into an ambulance. There were dozens of evidence markers on the street.
A 32-year-old man was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital of Cook County.
A 30-year-old man was shot in his left leg, a 22-year-old woman was shot in her right leg and a 25-year-old woman was shot in the back — all three victims were taken to Stroger and listed in stable condition.
A 25-year-old woman was wounded in her left leg and was taken to Swedish Hospital in stable condition, police said.
"People were screaming, but I wasn't sure if it was joyful screaming or tragedy screaming," Alma Wieser told CBS 2's Steven Graves. "So then I realized that it was tragedy because this woman was crying."
"I have never been this close to a shooting before, and I feel terrible that someone died."
Business owners say unruly crowds have been an issue for months. A meeting with 14th District police officers was already planned for Tuesday and this shooting is certain to be a big topic.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) took to Twitter and talked about remaining committed to achieving peace and stability in his ward.
Something business owners say is not happening, mainly in the overnight hours since last summer.
A bar owner gave CBS 2 video from June which shows people in the streets and some hanging out of sunroofs.
People in the area say they worked with the city to stop this; a plan they say involved banning parking on Milwaukee Avenue after 11 p.m.
Police data from the district shows that crime is up slightly in the area compared with last year.
Nobody is in custody as Area 5 detectives investigate.
