Worker shot and killed at drive-thru window at Original Maxwell Street on West Side
CHICAGO (CBS)-- The Original Maxwell Street hot dog stand is a staple on the city's West Side – but overnight, an employee was shot and killed on the job.
As CBS 2's Charlie De Mar reported Friday, it is believed the victim – who worked at the Original Maxwell Street at 3801 W. Harrison St. – got into some kind of quarrel with someone earlier in the night.
That person returned to the restaurant and shot the employee.
By midday, most of the outward signs of a crime scene were gone.
"I'm shocked. I'm like, well where's the yellow tape?" said customer Tanya Peters. "And they are still serving food."
But Chicago Police detectives were still at Original Maxwell Street – not for lunch, but trying to find the killer - looking for surveillance video and any other clues that could lead them to an arrest.
"It's terrible. I mean, to do that? Somebody comes in to make money, and they're going to kill somebody for what – Polishes?" said customer Rubia Rodriguez. "Really, Polishes?"
Maxwell's is known for its Polish sausage, hot dogs, hamburgers, pork chops, and fresh cut fries and is open 24 hours a day. Chicago Police say it was around 3 a.m. when the employee working beyond the service window was shot in the face. He later died at a nearby hospital.
The shooter got away. The restaurant is located along the Eisenhower Expressway.
"They can't climb through the glass and get the money, so what was the purpose - unless there was a personal vendetta?" Peters said.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan says the shooting may have stemmed from an argument earlier in the night.
"There's information that there may have been an argument between the two of those individuals – the victim and the offender – prior to that occurring," he said.
Rodriguez said she has known many employees at Maxwell's
"I've known some of them - I've been coming here for the last 50 years - always polite, kind, and sweet," she said. "So somebody could do that to them? That's terrible."
This was the same West Side hot dog stand where two Chicago police officers were shot in March while on their lunch break. The officers survived, and an arrest was made.
No arrests have been made in the latest incident, and the employee has yet to be formally identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
