 |
| Police at the scene of Sunday’s shooting; Brandon Ortiz was arrested nearby. | Kimberly Eberl; CPD |
A 23-year-old suburban man opened fire in an alley near Clark and Diversey on Sunday afternoon, shooting out two condominium windows, but causing no injuries, Chicago police said today.
Brandon Ortiz of west suburban Hillside is charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon—concealed; felony aggravated discharge of a weapon into an occupied building; and two misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property, a department spokesperson said.
Witnesses said a gunman opened fire during what they believed to be a drug transaction in an alley in the 2800 block of North Orchard shortly before 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Passers-by reported hearing eight to ten shots fired and police later found shell casings in an alley behind the Half Shell restaurant across from the usually-bustling Trader Joe’s
At least one person reported seeing two men engaged in what appeared to be a drug transaction with a third man in or near the alley, a source said. At some point, the third man pulled out a weapon and fired repeatedly. No one has come forward to complain about being shot at or robbed. Ortiz is not charged with any drug-related crimes.
Ortiz was arrested about 20 minutes after the shooting when a resident reported seeing a man hiding a gun in his clothing near the intersection of Clark and Orchard. A handgun was recovered, police said.
Two windows in the 2800 North Orchard condo building were shot out in the incident—one on the sixth floor and the other on the eighth floor. No one in the building was injured, police said.
A judge set bail for Ortiz at $10,000 this afternoon.
