A man is in custody after a bar-goer was shot and killed Sunday night on a Lincoln Park nightlife strip, just steps from where a woman was shot last month, according to Chicago police.
Witnesses said they saw a group of people fighting as they poured out of a nightclub in the 2200 block of North Lincoln Avenue around 11:43 p.m. As the brawl spilled into the street, witnesses said, at least one man pulled out a gun and opened fire.
Officers responding to 911 calls arrived quickly and found a 30-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds lying in front of the Bank of America at 2240 North Lincoln Avenue. Officers administered CPR until paramedics arrived and took him to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he died a short time later, according to police.
Officers recovered one firearm at the scene and found about 12 shell casings near the victim, police said.
Witnesses told police that several men fled the area after the shooting, some on foot and others in a car. Officers took a 25-year-old man into custody after he returned to the scene around 12:25 a.m. Monday and was identified as a suspect. A second firearm was recovered from that man, according to officers at the scene. He has not been charged as of Monday morning.
A review of Cook County criminal court records found no major local criminal matters in the adult backgrounds of either the victim or the man taken into custody.
The shooting happened just around the corner from where a 39-year-old woman was shot and critically injured early on June 7 after leaving a nightclub on Lincoln Avenue. At the time, local residents raised concerns that the shooting was linked to the same club where witnesses said Sunday’s fight broke out before the shooting. No charges have been filed in the June shooting.
After the June shooting, Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) told constituents in an email that it “was an isolated incident stemming from an altercation between a group of individuals after leaving a nearby bar on Lincoln Avenue and moving onto Belden Avenue.”
Knudsen said last month that concerns about the Lincoln Avenue bar corridor predate the June shooting.
“For several years, my office has been in contact with the City’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department and CPD related to this corridor, specifically to advocate for stricter rules on nightlife,” he said. “On this stretch, there are a few businesses about which we consistently receive noise, cleanliness and safety complaints. Adjacent businesses and residents have called for a reevaluation of what is permitted along this corridor, and they have been partners in this ongoing advocacy.”
Late last month, Knudsen said his office was “actively exploring additional tools, including stricter regulations for businesses that repeatedly contribute to public safety concerns, enhanced parking enforcement, and potential limitations on late-night operations where appropriate” to address concerns along Lincoln Avenue.
“My office remains committed to working with city departments, law enforcement, neighbors, and business owners to identify meaningful solutions and ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent incidents like this from happening again,” he wrote in a newsletter on June 26.
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