The Chicago Police Department has shuttered a River North nightclub that authorities say is linked to a shooting that left three people injured and one man dead over the weekend. A bright orange “summary closure” notice was plastered on the front door of Hush, 311 West Chicago Avenue, Tuesday afternoon, barring the club from operating until it clears things up with the city.
Aldermen created Chicago’s Summary Closure Ordinance to keep businesses deemed a “public safety threat” closed until the business owner takes “reasonable steps” to protect its employees, patrons, and members of the public from future harm, according to the city. Business owners have rights to a probable cause hearing and a hearing to resume operations under the ordinance.
Officials said Sunday’s shooting occurred after Hush employees ejected a group from the nightclub around 2:10 a.m. The group began fighting in the street, and two people in the group started shooting. A security guard from the lounge also returned fire, police said.
Arsen Solaqa, 30, was killed, and three others were injured, including the security guard, who police said was shot in the arm.
According to prosecutors, a security guard dropped his gun during the incident, and Jimmy Silva, 19, exited a nearby vehicle and picked it up. Silva returned to the SUV, which was occupied by several other people, and then pointed the gun out the vehicle’s window as it left the crime scene.
Chicago police surveillance camera operators allegedly secured video of Silva picking up the gun and waving it out of the car. He is not accused of firing the weapon. He is charged with unlawful use of a weapon but is not accused of firing the gun.
CPD has ordered other clubs and restaurants to close in the wake of shootings, but the enforcement measure is not evenly applied.
The Sun-Times reported in September that CPD had forced 58 businesses to close citywide since 2015 after shootings on or near their premises. But, as the paper found, businesses downtown and on the North Side were far less likely to be forced to close than businesses in less affluent parts of town.
Last month, a man was shot and killed inside J. Parker, a rooftop lounge at the Hotel Lincoln, 1816 North Clark, but the city did not order the club to close. In fact, the club continued to operate on the same evening that the local alderman said it “will remain closed for the time being.”