EDGEWATER — Maureen Ryan, 31, was in bed when she was awaken by at least five gunshots. She immediately picked up her phone and dialed 911. By the time she looked out of her window, she saw the street lined up with squad cars.
"I wasn't sure what was going on so I didn't go outside," Ryan said. "But I heard the shots because my windows were open. ... People always wonder if it's gunshots or fireworks, but when it's gunshots, you just know."
Ryan was among several residents along the 6300 block of North Lakewood Avenue who were awakened by gunshots and a subsequent SWAT-involved standoff when people in a second-floor apartment party barricaded themselves inside Friday night.
Mauricio Pena says the standoff lasted about six hours:
At around 11:20 p.m. Friday night, police were conducting a regular traffic stop for a minor traffic violation in the 6300 block of North Lakewood Avenue, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman.
During that traffic stop, initial reports indicated shots were fired at police from an ongoing party in a nearby second-floor apartment, police said.
Further investigation revealed that shots came from the rear of the building and were not directed at officers, said Officer Veejay Zala, a Chicago Police spokesman.
The man who was initially believed to be the shooter, along with other people at the party, barricaded themselves in the building, police said.
CPD SWAT officers were dispatched to the location, and around 5 a.m. SWAT forced entry into the apartment, Estrada said. All the people in the apartment surrendered peacefully.
Estrada said police recovered a firearm at the apartment and detained a total of 33 people: 18 women, 1 girl and 14 men.
Ryan and several other residents believed they heard the gunshots around 1 a.m., although the timeline differed from the official police report.
Jose Gonzalez was watching television when he heard several gunshots, he said. He and his wife went outside shortly after and saw the street already filled with police cars.
Another resident, Mark (who declined to give his last name), said the street had been sealed off. "Devon Avenue looked like a parking lot for police cars," he said.
One resident who wished not to be named said the house had been involved in criminal activity in the past.
Another resident who wished not to be named said that a police officer at a CAPS meeting previously said that party's host was the intended target in two shootings that left William Lewis, 28, and Markeyo Carr, 17, dead.
For Ryan, the events during the evening were unsettling. "It was bizarre, the entire street and alley were lined up with squad cars, as far as I could see," she said. "It doesn't feel good to know something like this happened on the block," Ryan said.
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