A Lincoln Park Whole Foods employee was shot in the leg as he took out garbage Sunday afternoon. Now. police are trying to determine if he was struck by an errant bullet fired after an alleged carjacking attempt in the store’s parking garage.
Police responded to the store at 1550 North Kingsbury after shots were fired around 2:30 p.m. Officers spoke with witnesses who saw two vehicles speeding from the scene, possibly while the cars’ occupants shot at each other, according to preliminary information from CPD.
According to a police officer who reviewed CPD surveillance video, two cars sped out of the Whole Foods parking garage and then turned west on North Avenue. Police found a shell casing in the intersection of Kingsbury and Sheffield.
About 30 minutes later, a 23-year-old man walked into St. Joseph’s Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left leg, according to police. The man, who said he is an employee of the grocery store, reported that he heard gunfire while taking out garbage and realized he had been shot. CPD said the man is in good condition.
Then, around 3:45 p.m., a 28-year-old man arrived at Trinity Hospital in Calumet Heights with facial injuries. He told police that a man struck him in the face with a pistol during a carjacking attempt at the same Whole Foods.
Police are working to confirm his story as they also investigate the shooting.
Sunday’s shooting is the second this year on a one-block stretch of Kingsbury that is home to several popular retailers.
On July 5, Kenric Campbell, 26, was shot outside REI sporting goods about a block south of Whole Foods. That investigation remains open, according to CPD records.