Gunfire rings out near El Barco Mariscos restaurant in West Town, panic ensues
CHICAGO (CBS) -- People dove to the floor when shots were reportedly fired Friday evening outside a popular restaurant on Ashland Avenue in West Town.
The shots were fired outside El Barco Mariscos, at 1035 N. Ashland Ave. at Cortez Street.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, Chicago Police remained at the scene at 10 p.m. trying to piece the shooting together.
It was not clear late Friday night whether the shooter walked up and started firing or jumped out of a car. But we do know up to 10 shots went off – scaring many on the block.
A window at El Barco was left shattered by the gunfire – showing just how close the bullets came to those eating inside. It was a packed house with children when the shots went off.
Witnesses said someone inside a restaurant saw a man with a gun and screamed that he was about to shoot. At that point, food at the tables was abandoned.
People took cover anywhere they could.
A worker inside, Eliseo Real, described the panic.
"Everybody ducked on the ground. Everybody like was in chaos," he said. "It was crazy. I was trying to control people."
Real said he did not think any shots went inside.
"I don't think so, but I did hear shells - shells hit the ground," he said.
Meanwhile, patrons at a restaurant across the street also took cover. They said everyone dropped to the floor and stayed there for one to two minutes.
Zach Blumenfeld was among those patrons.
"It is scary. It is scary that this could happen right across the street from where I'm trying to have a Friday night dinner," he said.
Blumenfeld described a chilling scene.
"They'd just turned on the birthday song in the restaurant. There was a kid probably 5, 6 years old who just got his birthday sundae," he said. "So yeah, as that song was playing, there was gunshots happening and we were on the ground."
Late Friday, police had yet to release information on whether anyone was struck in the shooting. We were also waiting late Friday for a description of a shooter – and whether there is a car being sought.
