CHICAGO — New video shows the unsettling scene along Hubbard Street moments after a gunfight between the occupants of two vehicles left three bystanders injured in the River North nightlife district early Sunday. Chicago police have released little information about the shooting, but they do not believe the victims were the intended targets.
A witness told CWBChicago that they believed the gunfire came from two tow trucks that quickly sped from the area. The shooting unfolded at 2:54 a.m., just as the Hubbard Street clubs were closing for the night, sending crowds onto the sidewalks.
A 22-year-old man and a 26-year-old man both suffered gunshot wounds throughout their bodies. They are in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said. The third man, 22, received two gunshot wounds to his left arm. CPD said his condition was stabilized at Northwestern.
The video footage, shared with CWBChicago by a local business owner, was recorded just seconds after the shooting. It contains strong language and images that some may find disturbing.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” the man utters as a small group gathers around one victim lying outside El Hefe, 15 West Hubbard. A second victim is seen on the ground near the next storefront.
A short distance to the east, a third victim lies in the street as bystanders comfort him. To the right, a police officer drapes crime scene tape to close off the area.
“People feel it’s OK to shoot anyone,” the business owner said Sunday night. “No one is afraid to use a gun. No consequences.”
It is, in fact, quite rare for someone to face consequences for shooting another person in Chicago.
The city’s data portal shows police filed 2,603 non-fatal shooting cases between January 1, 2022, and May 6 this year. But only 96 cases indicate an arrest has been made. That’s 3.7%.
CPD logged 887 murder cases during the same period with 275 arrests, a 31% success rate.
Sunday’s victims are the third, fourth, and fifth persons shot in River North this year. There were eight shooting victims in the neighborhood at this point last year, one as of this date in 2021, and none as of May 14, 2020.