CHICAGO — A self-declared gang member was shot on a crowded Lakeview street early Monday, police said.
The 21-year-old victim was standing at Belmont and Sheffield avenues when someone opened fire just before 2 a.m., police said. The man was struck in his left forearm and treated at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
Police said the victim, a gang member, lives in the Irving Park neighborhood and told police he did not know who shot him. No one was in custody.
Pete Lane, 58, lives on Sheffield Avenue just north of Belmont. He said he stepped outside for a cigarette about 9:30 p.m. Sunday and noticed "the crowd seemed to change."
The Pride parade revelers who had filled the street earlier were gone, Lane said, and a younger crowd replaced them.
"I doubt any of them was over 30," Lane said. "A lot of them don't live around here. They come from other neighborhoods. It's just the attitude they have, the mentality."
Lane said the neighborhood is typically peaceful, but can attract raucous crowds at night.
"This is the new Downtown, I suppose," he said.
Neighbor Juan Chavez, who's lived in the area since 2007, said "the majority of people who cause trouble don't live in the neighborhood."
Chavez said cellphone thefts have been a problem on Belmont in the past; people walking down the street using their phones make easy targets.
Still, Chavez called Lakeview "a great neighborhood" and said he still feels safe enough to ride his bike along the lakefront at night.
"You don't have to worry about getting mugged or getting shot," he said. "I have friends in other neighborhoods — once the sun goes down, they don't go outside."
Police said they had no more details on the Monday morning shooting.
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