Two men were injured in a drive-by shooting that unfolded in the middle of Lincoln Park steps from Diversey Harbor late Wednesday night, police said. No arrests have been made.
The victims, who both have records of contact with Chicago police, were hanging out and drinking with a large group in the 2600 block of North Cannon Drive when someone opened fire on them from a passing car at 10:38 p.m., according to CPD and witnesses.
Both men were driven to nearby St. Joseph Hospital in private cars. Police said a 29-year-old man was shot twice in his upper left leg, and a 21-year-old man was shot once in his right calf. Both were listed in good condition.
At the shooting scene, partly-consumed bottles of Modelo were lined up under ribbons of crime scene tape as detectives searched the nearby parkland for evidence. Several shell casings were lying on the ground, and a bullet hole could be seen in a parked car.
Witnesses said the shooter is a Hispanic man who opened fire from a black Nissan Maxima that fled northbound on Cannon Drive.
In July 2019, Chicago police temporarily banned overnight parking along Cannon Drive after seven people were shot on the nearby lakefront. Town Hall police district leaders and Lincoln Park Alderman Michele Smith linked that shooting and other violent crime to car parties along the leafy stretch of road that runs parallel to Diversey Harbor.
Three weeks later, Smith spiked the football and declared the parking ban an overwhelming success — even though CWBChicago found there was no measurable change in crime along Cannon Drive during the parking ban.
Nonetheless, the city subsequently banned overnight parking on the roadway — but only on Fridays and Saturdays between May and November.
