A 23-year-old security guard who police said shot a man during an argument at DuSable Harbor on Sunday night has been released without being charged, a police spokesperson said. But prosecutors Wednesday charged another man who was allegedly at the scene with firing a gun into the air to break up the altercation. The accused man, Regginol Singleton, happens to work as a security guard elsewhere, but he was off-duty at the time.
Around 10:19 p.m., Singleton and two other people were walking from the harbor to a parking lot after attending a party when one of his companions grabbed a flower pot and broke it on the ground, Assistant State’s Attorney Darryl Auguste said. The man who broke the pot then began moving traffic cones that were blocking an exit, Auguste said.
As he did that, an on-duty harbor security guard approached the man to talk about the broken flower pot. The situation escalated, the man swung at the guard, and a fight broke out, Auguste said.
Singleton directed threats toward the guard and then ran to his nearby BMW, retrieved a handgun, and fired three shots into the air, according to Auguste. He then ran toward the security guard and two other on-duty guards with a gun in his left hand, Auguste alleged.
The group broke up and police eventually found 38 shell casings and four live bullets at the scene, Auguste said. But the prosecutor did not explain who fired the 35 rounds that Singleton is not accused of discharging. Auguste also did not mention that a man was shot at some point during the incident.
Witnesses described Singleton, age 27, to police and officers allegedly found him at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with the man who was shot. Cops seized Singleton’s BMW and found an unspecified number of 9-millimeter bullets inside, Auguste said. Singleton allegedly admitted to firing his gun into the air to disperse the crowd.
Singleton, who has never been arrested before, holds a Firearm Owner’s ID (FOID) card but not a concealed carry license, Auguste said. He is charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm.
A public defender said Singleton has three children and works as a security guard for an armored car company.
Judge Arthur Willis ordered Singleton to surrender his FOID and all weapons to police within 48 hours. The judge said Singleton must post a $500 deposit to get out of jail.
CPD released a media statement after the shooting that said a 23-year-old security guard drew his weapon and shot a 34-year-old man during a verbal altercation at the harbor. That guard was detained by police, but he was later released without being charged, Officer Steve Rusanov said Wednesday.
The original police statement provided no information about a bullet-riddled car that was in the parking lot, nor did it indicate that more than three dozen shots had been fired.
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