Two shootings in River North on Sunday night and early Monday left two women and one man injured, according to Chicago police. CPD has announced no arrests.
The first incident occurred on the 500 block of West Erie near Montgomery Ward Park. Police said a 20-year-old woman and her boyfriend were sitting in a parked minivan when three or four men walked up to them around 10 p.m. Sunday.
One of the men reached into the van and punched the boyfriend in his face. As the group walked away, one man pulled out a gun and opened fire on the van, according to a CPD statement. One round struck the woman in her back.
She was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. The man was not shot.
Witnesses gave conflicting information about the suspects’ appearance and where the group went after the shooting. Some said the men escaped in a car and others said they ran into the park.
After the shooting, the male victim drove to the intersection of Chicago and Cambridge to get help from officers who were stationed nearby. More than 40 rounds were fired at that intersection on Thursday evening in an incident that was captured on video.
In the latest shooting, a 39-year-old man and a 26-year-old women were shot behind Walgreens, 337 West Chicago around 2:14 a.m. Monday. Police said the victims were standing in the alley when two men shot at them from a distance and then left the area on foot.
EMS took both victims to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition. Police said the man suffered two gunshot wounds to his abdomen and the woman received a gunshot wound to her left leg.
CPD surveillance video showed two suspected gunmen walking into the alley from Orleans: a Black male wearing a baseball cap, basketball jersey, shorts, and light-colored shoes and a Black male wearing all black, according to an officer.
Earlier Sunday, shots were fired and a man was beaten in an unrelated incident just a couple hundred yards away from the shooting scene.
Around 5:15 a.m., two men confronted a third man outside Griddle 24, 334 West Chicago. One of the offenders attacked the victim and the other assailant, who was armed with two guns, fired shots, according to CPD surveillance footage. The victim collapsed in the street and the offenders escaped in a black Lamborghini.
Police found several live bullets outside the restaurant and a bullet hole in one of the diner’s windows, according to an officer at the scene.
Officers who reviewed video said the gunman wore all black clothing and appeared to be Hispanic or Middle Eastern. The one who attacked the victim is a muscular White or Middle Eastern man with short dark hair who wore a tank top and a silver chain around his neck.
EMS took the victim to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries that included a deep cut on his face.
So far this year, 12 people have been shot in River North, more than double the number seen at this time last year. There was only one shooting victim in River North as of May 30, 2020. For statistical purposes, we consider the area between the Chicago River, Chicago Avenue, and Michigan Avenue to be River North.
The Near North community area, which includes River North, has seen 30 people shot so far this year, six of whom died. There were eight shooting victims with no fatalities at this point last year; seven victims with two fatalities through May 30, 2020; and nine victims with two fatalities at this point in 2019. The Near North Side lies between the Chicago River, Lake Michigan, and North Avenue.