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Man Claims He Was Shot Near Mag Mile, But Cops Cast Doubt on Victim's Story

By Erica Demarest | November 10, 2013 9:21am | Updated on November 10, 2013 6:12pm
 Six people were injured in overnight shootings, including a man who claims he was shot near the ritzy Michigan Avenue shopping district. File photo.
Six people were injured in overnight shootings, including a man who claims he was shot near the ritzy Michigan Avenue shopping district. File photo.
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DNAinfo/Erica Demarest

CHICAGO — After a Texas man claimed he was shot near the Magnificent Mile Saturday night, police investigating the incident said the man's story doesn't add up — and believe that the shooting is drug related.

Sometime after 11 p.m. Saturday, the 48-year-old man told a front desk clerk at his Gold Coast hotel that he'd been shot, police said.

An ambulance took the man — a construction contractor who's been in Chicago for a few weeks — to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound in his chest.

The Frisco, Texas, man originally told cops he'd been struck in the 100 block of East Superior Street, police said. The man claimed he was driving when he heard the back window of his rented 2014 Jeep Patriot shatter.

The man told police he quickly drove away, thinking someone had purposefully knocked out his window. He then allegedly returned to his hotel in the 200 block of East Walton Street, where a valet parked the damaged Jeep.

The man claimed that when he went up to his room, he realized his T-shirt was covered in blood, police said. It was then he discovered that he'd been shot through the left side of his chest and shoulder, the man claimed.

But investigators on Sunday said they couldn't find evidence to back up the man's statements, according to police sources. Cops found neither shell casings nor shattered glass on Superior Street, and there were no reports of shots fired in the popular entertainment area.

After canvassing the area, police Sunday night said the shooting did not take place in the 100 block of East Superior Street, nor in the 18th District, said Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti, a police spokeswoman. She said police believe the incident to be drug related, and that the victim was shot somewhere else in the city.

Additionally, police said no witnesses could back up the man's story.

According to police, the man appeared to be highly intoxicated when he was treated.

Cops said the man has been arrested four times in the past for property damage and narcotics-related issues. The arrests occurred in Texas, Kansas and California, but police could not provide specific details early Sunday.

Investigators believe the man may have been soliciting drugs or a prostitute when he was shot Saturday night.

An investigation is ongoing.

In other shootings:

• A 49-year-old man was shot in his leg in South Deering about 4:15 a.m. Sunday, police said. The man claims he was the victim of an attempted robbery in the 2400 block of East 107th Street. He was treated at Advocate Trinity Hospital.

• About 11:50 p.m. Saturday, a 23-year-old man was shot in his chest in Chatham, police said. The man was standing in the sidewalk of the 900 block of East 82nd Street when two men approached and opened fire. The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital.

• A 15-year-old boy is in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center after he was shot in his leg Saturday night, police said. The teen was walking on the sidewalk in the 8900 block of South Union Avenue in Auburn Gresham when two men approached about 8:25 p.m.

After an exchange of words, one of the men opened fire, striking the boy in his upper right leg.

• In West Pullman, two men were shot in the 300 block of West 119th Street about 8:20 p.m. Saturday, police said, citing preliminary information. A 22-year-old man was grazed in his abdomen, while an 18-year-old was shot in his right arm and treated at Roseland Community Hospital.