Update: Chicago police announced that the 17-year-old has been charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
CHICAGO — A 17-year-old girl was shot after she stabbed a 26-year-old concealed carry holder at 31st Street Beach late Saturday night, officials said. It’s the latest in a string of shootings at the beach that recently prompted a local alderman to demand that the city close the beach at 9 p.m. nightly until officials get the situation under control.
Last night’s trouble began around 11:30 p.m. in the 3000 block of South Ft. Dearborn, according to Chicago police. The teenager and woman got into an argument that escalated when the girl stabbed the woman in the arm. The woman, licensed to carry a concealed firearm, responded by shooting the girl in the shoulder.
EMS took the girl to the University of Chicago Hospital in good condition. The woman was taken to Insight Hospital, also in good condition.
Barely a week ago, Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th), citing ongoing violence, publicly called for the city to close the beach at 9 p.m. and strictly enforce a nighttime curfew.
By Tuesday, Robinson seemed confident that things had already improved.
“We will continue to enforce the rules to keep residents and beach-goers safe. Please make note of signage indicating where you can and cannot park‼️” Robinson tweeted in response to a news story headlined “Bag Checks And Traffic Crackdowns At Bronzeville Beach Led To Safer Weekend, Alderman Says.”
The alderman in question was, of course, Robinson. He has yet to comment about Saturday night’s stabbing and shooting at the beach.
He issued his call for shortened hours and stricter security after two people were shot to death in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive on June 21. Chicago police said officers responding to calls of a person shot found a 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman dead from multiple gunshot wounds around 3:19 a.m.
Police said that the male victim had been exchanging gunfire with “multiple individuals” at the scene, and they took some men into custody.
Shortly after 10 p.m. on June 19, two women sustained gunshot wounds at the beach. A 22-year-old woman was in critical condition with three gunshot wounds to the chest. A 20-year-old was in good condition with a gunshot wound to the thigh. The police did not release any other details about the shooting.
CPD records show another victim was shot in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive at 8:50 p.m. on June 11, but it is not clear if that occurred at the beach complex or on the drive proper.
Police are still investigating the shootings of two young people during a “large group” incident at the beach on June 7. A 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were injured, according to Chicago police and witnesses. Again, the police offered few details about what happened.
In a media statement, the department said the boy was “walking with a large group of people” when someone in a silver sedan fired shots in the 500 block of East 31st Street.
In April 2023, a 14-year-old boy was shot during a “large group” gathering at 31st Street Beach. In addition to the shooting, the crowd pulled a driver from a Tesla and set the vehicle on fire.
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