CHICAGO — A drive-by gunman killed a man and left a woman injured in Rogers Park overnight, Chicago police said. The shootings are part of a big increase in shootings in the neighborhood this year. Records show 28 people have been shot in Rogers Park since January 1, equal to the number shot at this point in 2021 and 2022 combined.
There were quite a few people in the 1200 and 1300 blocks of West Devon as a popular hookah lounge began to close for the night early Sunday.
Moments after being assigned to keep an eye on the area, a Chicago police unit reported shots fired at 1:43 a.m. The officers radioed for assistance, saying the gunfire sounded like it came from an automatic weapon.
In a media statement, Chicago police said the man, 30, and a 20-year-old woman were walking on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of West Devon when a gunman opened fire from a passing black sedan.
Officers found the man with ten gunshot wounds to his body, according to CPD. He was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital. The woman was in good condition at the same hospital with a gunshot wound to her leg.
Police arrested one person at the scene for possession of a firearm, but it was not clear if he had any connection with the shooting.
So far this year, 28 people have been shot in Rogers Park, including nine this month. Three of the victims have died.
By comparison, the neighborhood had 16 people shot at this point last year and 12 as of this date in 2021.
The motive for Sunday’s shooting is not known.
Earlier this week, cops on the North Side were warned that a long-running gang rivalry between the Wicked City Black P Stones and the Gangster Disciples had turned particularly violent again. Officers were advised of four specific areas in Rogers Park, Edgewater, and Uptown with a “strong possibility of retaliatory shootings.” Sunday’s shooting occurred about two blocks north of the Edgewater zone.
Other recent shootings in Rogers Park include:
- A shootout near the Willye B. White Park fieldhouse on July 7 injured five people. A sixth man was shot about two blocks away early the next morning. CPD said a group of people were “waiting on the sidewalk” near the fieldhouse when two vehicles pulled up, and an argument started. Gunmen inside both cars opened fire on the group, and someone in the crowd fired back, according to a CPD media statement.
- A 43-year-old man was shot near the Howard CTA station on July 5.
- A 33-year-old man was shot in a drive-by while standing near the Willye B. White fieldhouse on June 9.
- On May 22, a 19-year-old woman was shot in the chest and abdomen while walking in Willye B. White Park around 10:18 p.m. The victim, a Northwestern University student, was walking with a companion when the shots were fired, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said. They were not the intended targets, according to Hadden.