CHICAGO — A man was shot and critically injured overnight as he walked in the Gold Coast, about a block from Gov. JB Prtizker’s home, police say.
The victim, who police said was in his 20s, was at Astor and North Boulevard when someone fired shots in the area around 12:53 a.m. He suffered gunshot wounds to his left thigh and buttocks.
Police found shell casings in a grassy area and more shell casings next to a Divvy bike rack at North Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive. Witnesses reported seeing a man run from the scene and jump into a black Chrysler 300 on Inner Lake Shore Drive. Police determined that the car had been reported stolen.
According to an officer who reviewed surveillance video, the suspect was a Black male wearing a blue hoodie, light-colored jeans, and black shoes.
Chicago police officers stopped a car in the area immediately after the shooting and recovered a firearm from the vehicle. Witnesses told police that none of the car’s occupants looked like the shooter.
Some witnesses believed a robbery was occurring in the area because they heard someone demand another person’s keys as the shots rang out. The police have not confirmed those suspicions.
The governor lives in the 1400 block of North Astor, just south of the shooting scene.
So far this year, 11 people have been shot on the Near North Side, which includes the Gold Coast neighborhood. That includes a Chicago police officer and a suspected burglar who exchanged gunfire near the Magnificent Mile on January 8.
Near North shooting totals as of June 12 in recent years:
2023: 11
2022: 32 (includes a 9-victim mass shooting)
2021: 11
2020: 8
2019: 15
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