A woman pulled her minivan to a stop and opened fire on a group of people trying to enter an Irving Park bar early on April 12, wounding three men and sending a fourth to the hospital after he tore a ligament in his knee diving out of the way, prosecutors said Thursday.
Officials offered no motive for the shooting, noting that the accused woman, 27-year-old Isathtia Perez, is licensed to own firearms but does not hold a concealed carry license.
Prosecutors said the victims were in a group of people who were trying to enter Marinero Bar, 2916 West Irving Park Road, around 2:47 a.m. The bar closes at 2 a.m. nightly, according to its business listings.
Surveillance cameras captured a grey Honda Odyssey with distinctive damage to its front right fender passing the bar heading eastbound, then turning around and stopping in the middle of Richmond Street, prosecutors said. The driver, allegedly Perez, stepped out of the minivan and opened fire on the crowd, sending victims scrambling for cover behind parked cars and trees. She then got back into the minivan and drove off, prosecutors said.
Police recovered 14 9mm shell casings at the scene, according to a detention filing, which noted that Perez has a 9mm handgun registered in her name.
The victims included a 37-year-old man who sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his abdomen, hip, back, and arm. He was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. A 38-year-old man was shot in the left thigh and was also taken to Masonic. A 31-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the right calf and was transported to St. Francis Hospital. A fourth victim, whose age is not known, tore a ligament in his knee after diving away from the gunfire and was also taken to Masonic.
Witnesses told police the shooter was a heavyset Hispanic woman.
License plate reader technology captured the Odyssey’s plate near the scene, and detectives learned the vehicle is registered to Perez, according to prosecutors. Detectives allegedly pulled CPD surveillance camera footage to track the minivan from the shooting scene to Perez’s home in the 1300 block of North Keeler Avenue in Humboldt Park. Additional CPD footage recorded by a camera near her home showed her parking, placing something in the trunk, and running into the house at 3:04 a.m., prosecutors allege.
Perez faces one count of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, aggravated possession of a weapon, and aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle. Judge Shauna Boliker granted the state’s petition to detain her.
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