One injured after gunman opens fire on North Side homeless encampment

A man was shot in both legs this morning after a gunman opened fire on a homeless encampment in Rogers Park. It happened around 6:23 a.m. in the 7300 block of North Clark, on the west end of Touhy Park.

A tent city on the west end of Touhy Park is seen in this Google Street View image. | Google

According to a Chicago police statement, the 53-year-old victim was sitting outside when the gunman shot him. He walked across the street to a firehouse for assistance and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in fair condition.

It’s not clear if the victim was the intended target or if he lives in the encampment.

According to witnesses, a gunman approached the tent city from within the park and started firing shots. They said he then ran back toward Paulina Street and continued north.

The suspect is a Black male who wore a baseball cap backward and a neon green face mask, according to an officer at the scene.

This morning’s victim is the 13th person shot in Rogers Park this year. That’s exactly the same number of shooting victims the neighborhood recorded at this point in 2021.

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About Tim Hecke 5786 Articles
Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. He can be reached at tim@cwbchicago.com