LAKEVIEW — Residents from around the Lakeview area were surprised by the early morning shooting in their neighborhood that left two men in their 20s wounded early Sunday.
Around 3 a.m., a group of men and women approached a 23-year-old man and a 28-year-old man in the 3700 block of North Lake Shore Drive and asked about their gang affiliation, said Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman.
A man in the group then opened fire, striking the 23-year-old in his left thigh, back and shoulder, and the 28-year-old in his upper right arm, chest and armpit, Estrada said.
Both men were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where they are in critical condition, police said.
The shooting appears to be gang-related, Estrada said. No one was in custody.
The shooting didn't derail residents from enjoying the final day of their holiday weekend. Hundreds of people biked the lakefront trail, headed to the beach or threw around the Frisbee in the park near where the two men were shot hours earlier.
"It's very surprising for a shooting to happen here. I would've never thought that. I've never heard of a shooting happening around here," said Marissa Rhines, who goes to the nearby tennis courts five or six times a week.
Rhines was surprised that the shooting occurred in her neighborhood, but with 40 people shot across the city so far it was only a matter of time before the violence hit close to home, Rhines said. A shooting also took place in Lakeview after the Pride Parade last week.
"The summer in Chicago is always violent and we've learned [shootings] can happen anywhere," Rhines said, adding the timing over the holiday weekend was concerning. "We have a lot of friends who hang out here after bars or even watching the sun come up."
Bill Parnell, 48, lives across Lake Shore Drive and heard what sounded like gunshots around 3 a.m. Sunday, but he and his wife ignored them when they didn't hear an ambulance after the loud noise.
"I've never heard a gunshot before so if we don't hear sirens [we assume] it's backfire from a car," Parnell said.
The 10-year resident of the area said he saw violence erupt watching fireworks and has read about violence in Chicago the entire weekend, making the shooting less of a surprise.
"It's a concern but everyone's out and about anyway. You can't police everything and it's summertime," Parnell said. "They always say you should be home by bar time."
"I feel perfectly safe walking around here at midnight but I wouldn't walk around at 3 in the morning in Uptown," he said.
Connie Marsh, 32, of Buena Park was visiting the park with her 1-year-old twin daughters said it was "very surprising for the park area."
"Oh gosh. That's crazy," she said, noting there has been a ton of shootings this weekend. "I think it's just a reminder that it exists. In this area you always have to be cautious of what's going on."
"I would just be a little more cautious about going out after dark. If it's gang-related, that would cause additional concerns," Marsh said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
