A Logan Square woman shot a man on a River North street corner, then followed him for two blocks and shot him again at point-blank range as bystanders tried to help him outside a bustling tavern, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Judge John Lyke ordered Maria Gomez held without bail after her defense attorney said she acted out of “intense provocation.”
CPD surveillance video shows a woman wearing a leopard print dress firing a gun at 455 North LaSalle around 10:21 Sunday night, shortly before the 32-year-old victim walked up to a group of people outside Boss Bar, 420 North Clark, and said he’d been shot in the neck, Assistant State’s Attorney Darryl Auguste said.
As three bystanders treated the bleeding man’s injury, a woman in a leopard print dress walked up and shot the victim again at point-blank range in his back, according to Auguste. Once again, the shooting was captured by surveillance cameras.
Police responded to the sound of gunfire, and witnesses directed them to Gomez, who was wearing a leopard print dress and flip-flops about a block away on Kinzie Street, Auguste said. Cops allegedly found a loaded handgun in her purse. One shell casing was found outside the bar, and five more were found on LaSalle Street.
Auguste said the second bullet entered the victim’s back, lacerated his liver, and exited through his abdomen. The man underwent surgery and is still hospitalized.
Gomez is charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery by discharging a firearm.
Auguste said she was convicted of misdemeanor battery in 2015 after biting someone’s finger off during an argument. The case was originally charged as felony aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, but prosecutors agreed to downgrade the offense in a plea deal.
Private defense attorney Mike Krejci said he represented Gomez in the pinky-biting case and called it a matter of self-defense.
On Sunday, Gomez was “acting under intense provocation” when she shot the man, Krejci said. He claimed the victim approached Gomez and her girlfriends outside a bar, struck Gomez’s shoulder and chest, and followed the women before he was shot.
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