A man was shot on the lakefront near Addison Street overnight, Chicago police said. It happened near the clocktower, an area that was the site of several shootings and shots fired incidents between 2014 and 2016 until CPD clamped down on nighttime loitering.
Around 1:26 a.m., a 20-year-old man was walking in the 3600 block of North Recreation Drive when he heard gunfire and noticed he had been shot in the leg, according to a CPD statement. He arrived at Thorek Hospital in a car moments later.
Witnesses reported seeing a couple of people exchanging gunfire in the area of the tennis courts and parking lot south of the clock tower. Cops found one shell casing in the lot.
The victim is the tenth person shot in Lakeview this year, compared to only four by this point in 2021. In 2020, eight people were shot in the neighborhood, but one was by police, another was an accident, and another was self-inflicted. In 2019, Lakeview had five shooting victims.
Sunday’s shooting occurred at almost exactly the same spot where two people were shot on July 6, 2014. Another shooting happened in the same area on June 11, 2016. And a 23-year-old man was shot about 150 feet south of the clocktower early on July 30, 2016.
The shootings, along with other incidents in the area, prompted Chicago police to close off the lakefront area during the overnight hours to prevent gang-related gatherings and conflicts.
According to city records, there had been no shootings along Recreation Drive since the July 30, 2016, incident.
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