LOGAN SQUARE — A man was injured in a drive-by shooting in Logan Square Thursday evening, which sent his car slamming into several other parked vehicles and left neighbors shocked.
The 19-year-old victim was shot in the knee in the 1800 block of North Kedzie Avenue about 6:30 p.m. in an “apparent” drive-by shooting, police said.
The maroon van the victim was driving careened into two parked cars and an SUV. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound, fire officials said.
The SUV belonging to a native of France was one of the vehicles damaged in the crash. She moved to Chicago two years ago, and Thursday's gunfire was her first real taste of the violence in the city.
“In France you know where the violent pockets are, but here they can be anywhere,” she said. "In France we don't have guns like they do here."
Several neighbors heard the gunfire, and one described hearing one shot, a pause, and then five more.
"My son was walking out the door — then I heard the shots," said another neighbor who didn't want to be named. "It really freaked me out."
The French woman said the experience will make her more aware of her surroundings in the neighborhood.
"Before I didn’t pay attention, and now I don’t feel that safe," she said.
A neighbor who has been living in Logan Square for 27 years also was surprised by the violence in the area.
"This neighborhood has been nice and quiet for the last two years, except for the last two weeks," he said.
On Dec. 23, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the back of the head while riding in a car on the 3500 block of West Diversey Avenue, according to a published report.
The suspected shooters, two men, were last scene heading North on Kedzie in a white hatchback, police said.
