One man dead, another injured in River North shooting
One man is dead, and another was wounded, in a shooting in at the busy intersection of Grand Avenue and State Street in Chicago's River North district early Wednesday morning.
The intersection is the site of a Chicago Transit Authority Red Line subway station where trains stop 24 hours a day, along with hotels, luxury apartments, and office buildings.
Surveillance from the Royal Sonesta Hotel showed the moment multiple gunmen opened fire at the intersection, leaving some of the windows of nearby buildings damaged so they had to be boarded up.
In a statement, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said five hooded and masked gunmen got out of a matte gray Honda Accord — at least two of them with long guns. They opened fire around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, police said.
Riley said the shooting was a "gang-on-gang targeted 'hit'" and not a random act.
He said shooters were targeting a 30-year-old man, who was shot multiple times and later died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dispatch reports indicated that he was shot twice in the back of the head and twice in his back.
A 65-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting. He was shot in the foot, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition.
The older man was expected to recover.
More than 100 evidence markers were spotted at the crime scene. The shell casing markers were clustered in the plaza of the Five One Five North State business center.
CBS News Chicago spoke to a woman visiting from San Francisco who was staying in a 14th-floor room at a nearby hotel. She thought she was hearing fireworks from an early 4th of July celebration, until she saw police responding minutes later.
"It's a little unnerving right now, and sad for somebody, anybody getting hurt," said the woman, Cindy M. "But especially right here — I didn't know if it happened in our hotel, so that was another thing that concerned me also."
Ald. Reilly said police found the Honda scorched on the city's West Side.
As of late Wednesday, no arrests had been made. Belmont Area detectives were investigating.
"Gun violence downtown is totally unacceptable — just as it should be unacceptable in any of Chicago's neighborhoods," Reilly wrote. The brave women and men who serve in the Chicago Police Department are working hard to protect our communities. Like all downtown residents, I am grateful for their service and hard work. But we need a greater presence overnight."
Reilly went on to write that Chicago police Near North (18th) District Cmdr. Christopher Bielfeldt has promised "a very significant presence in the downtown neighborhoods, along the lakefront, and at Navy Pier for the fireworks display and throughout the July 4th long weekend."
Chicago police responded to Reilly in a statement that read, "The Chicago Police Department is implementing regular canceled days off to ensure there are sufficient resources across the city, including the downtown area, during this holiday weekend. Members with specialized assignments will have days off canceled and cancellations are not department-wide."
The CPD's Near North District includes River North, Streeterville, the Magnificent Mile, the Gold Coast, the Rush and Division Street nightlife districts, Old Town, the old Cabrini-Green area, Goose Island, and all but the northernmost half mile of the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Overall in the district, shootings are down 81% over the last four years, and 55% this year to date.
Shooting incidents in the district are down from 11 to five compared to this time last year.
Police detectives have been seen near the State Street and Grand Avenue shooting scene throughout the day. Reilly, along with aldermen Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Bill Conway (34th) — whose wards also each include part of downtown — are pushing for a significant overnight police presence in the downtown area to last for the entire summer.
