CHICAGO — An Indianapolis man drove all the way to Chicago with a gun, showed up at his ex’s house, and began shooting, striking an innocent bystander in the foot, prosecutors said Sunday.
Calling the allegations “a little shocking, frankly,” Judge Maryam Ahmad held Gregory Mulkey, 33, without bail.
After about six months together, Mulkey’s girlfriend broke up with him on September 11 due to his increasingly “irrational” behavior, Assistant State’s Attorney Gail Bembnister told Ahmad. Four days later, on Friday, September 15, Mulkey allegedly drove from Indianapolis to his ex’s Albany Park apartment building in the 3700 block of West Leland.
He first approached a man sitting in a car behind the building and accused him of “being with” his ex, Bembnister alleged. Mulkey tried to hold onto the side of the man’s car as he drove away.
A neighbor saw Mulkey yelling his ex’s name, exhibiting “extreme instability,” and walking down a staircase with a handgun, Bembnister said. The neighbor called 911.
Minutes later, as another neighbor was cleaning up outside her home, Mulkey returned with a handgun, Bembnister continued. She said the woman saw him with a gun and sprinted into her home as Mulkey fired the weapon. A bullet struck the 20-year-old woman’s foot, which was still outside the doorway.
The woman, who has no connection with Mulkey or his ex, received seven stitches to close a through-and-through gunshot wound. Doctors said she suffered severe nerve and tissue damage, according to Bembnister.
Before police arrived, Mulkey moved to the front of the apartment building, crouched down, assumed a shooting stance, and fired another round before hiding in some bushes near a school, Bembnister alleged.
As police were investigating the situation, Mulkey returned to the scene and jumped into a squad car, claiming that someone had shot at him, according to Bembnister. She said the officers spoke with witnesses and quickly realized that the man they were looking for was sitting in their squad.
Officers also found a gun that Mulkey’s ex said she knew he owned. And while he was in the police lockup, a bullet fell from his pocket that matched evidence found at the crime scene, Bembnister said.
He is charged with aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor weapons violations.