Charges are pending against a 34-year-old man who allegedly fired a gun into the air outside the Grand Red Line station Tuesday afternoon. The incident is the latest in a series of apparently unrelated cases of shots being fired around the downtown area over the past three weeks.
Police who responded to calls of shots fired at the intersection of State and Grand around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday were met by several witnesses who said a man had fired three or four shots and then headed east on Grand Avenue. At least one witness had a picture of the suspect on his phone. No injuries were reported.
Armed with the witness’ photo, police searched the area and detained a suspect near the intersection of Illinois and St. Clair in Streeterville. The man was allegedly in possession of a firearm. Witnesses also identified him as the shooter.
The man’s motive for firing the gun is not clear. CPD records show he has been arrested in Streeterville three times since 2015 for minor violations like simple battery and assault. CWBChicago will post an update once charges are approved in the case.
Police have found evidence of shots fired without people being injured several times over the past three weeks in the Loop and River North, according to CPD reports:
- A woman reportedly fired five shots into the air from a gold car on the 600 block of North LaSalle around 2:10 a.m. on Monday, August 2. Shell casings were found.
- Around 6:10 p.m. last Tuesday, a group of men in a white Jeep threatened a restaurant cook and fired a shot on 9th Street between Michigan and Wabash. Police found a shell casing at the scene.
- Around 3:25 a.m. on July 31, officers responded to calls of shots fired and found several cars shot up and shell casings lying on the 800 to 900 block of South Wells. Witnesses told police the occupants of a white Mercedes and a white SUV fired shots at each other.
- Also on July 31, a car was found shot up on the 300 block of West Kinzie after gunfire was heard at 4:54 a.m.
- On July 22, an overnight worker reported seeing someone fire shots from a red Jeep on the 300 block of South Wells around 2:20 a.m. Police found shell casings at the scene.
No injuries were reported in any of those incidents. However, four people have been shot in the Loop since July 1. Three more have been shot in River North during that time.
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