CHICAGO — New details have emerged about a shooting that left a man critically injured in River North on Saturday evening, a crime that one Chicago police detective said left “upwards of 50” shell casings in the street.
CPD issued a brief media statement after the shooting, saying a gunman walked up to the victim in the 300 block of West Erie around 6:36 p.m. and fired shots. The statement said that the gunman was later involved in a car crash, leading to his arrest.
But we’ve learned more about the case and received this surveillance photo that shows the gunman chasing after the victim moments before the 27-year-old was critically injured.
Witnesses reported that someone loaded the victim, who collapsed near a stop sign, into a vehicle and drove away. That car arrived at Stroger Hospital a few minutes later. A nearby resident tweeted video they recorded immediately after the shooting.
It reportedly shows a man helping the victim into an SUV, which speeds away. The man enters another SUV and follows behind:
— Chitown978 (@chicagokid45) June 18, 2023
Meanwhile, the gunman sped away in a Jeep just as officers arrived. One police unit pursued the Jeep, and officers said they saw the shooter toss a gun from the vehicle as it flew down the Ontario feeder ramp. The weapon was located and secured by other cops. (Update: On Sunday afternoon, prosecutors charged the arrested man with fleeing police and possessing a firearm, but he is not accused of participating in the shooting. More info here.)
The chase continued into the West Loop until the Jeep crashed into a Kia occupied by three men. Police arrested the man as he ran from the crash site. He is 35, a police report said.
He was taken to Stroger Hospital for evaluation. The three men in the Kia were also taken to hospitals, and two were quickly released by doctors, a CPD crash report said. The alleged gunman and the Kia’s driver were in “stable conditions,” according to the report.
The police found shell casings inside the Jeep. Back on Erie Street, a detective said evidence technicians needed to collect “upwards of 50” casings.
Gunfire struck parked cars on Erie. The driver of another vehicle hit by bullets pulled up to the Central (1st) Police District around 7:15 p.m. to file a report.