LINCOLN SQUARE — Residents of a typically quiet Lincoln Square block were shaken up Monday after a shooting left a young man dead.
Around 6:35 p.m. Sunday, witnesses said they saw a group of men enter an alley in the 2200 block of West Winnemac Avenue before hearing gunshots. Moments later, they saw a red SUV speed away from the scene, said Officer Michael Sullivan, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.
A 21-year-old man was found unresponsive in the alley and was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
His family identified him as Dushanti Hassell of Edgewater.
"It's horrifying. It's normally quiet over here. I've been here almost 30 years and haven't had any trouble. At night, it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop," resident Eddie Robinson said Monday while clearing snow from his driveway.
Josh McGhee spoke with neighbors after the shooting:
A 41-year-old woman, who refused to give her name, said she could hear an argument from inside her home.
"I heard the argument and came to the front because it was echoing through the house, but it happened directly behind us," she said.
When she heard police and neighbors behind her home, she went on to her deck and saw them surrounding the man lying in his own blood. The sight sent her inside to comfort her son, who was riled by the sirens and commotion.
"It was pretty surprising. I don't know what it was related to, but if it's gang-related, that can happen anywhere. I feel nervous right now, but I wouldn't say it's any more dangerous," she said.
Tom Rice, 71, said he's lived in the neighborhood for nine years and this is "the first time it's hit this close to home.
"It's not a comforting thought, but I'd like to know the circumstances. It would make a difference if it was domestic-related, neighbors arguing over a parking spot or if it was some gangs," Rice said.
Ald. Patrick O'Connor said Monday that Foster District police told him the shooting was gang-related.
"The shooting took place at roughly 6:30 p.m. on the 2200 block of West Winnemac Avenue and involved approximately five male Hispanics," O'Connor said in a Facebook post Monday. "The man that was killed resided on North Kenmore Avenue and was part of the P-Stone Nation street gang."
Rice said the shooting reminded him of the last time a woman was robbed in Winnemac Park in September.
But he said these incidents aren't enough to make most people consider abandoning their normally quiet neighborhood.
"It's scary. I don't walk the dog in the park at night anymore, but that's the only concession I'll make. I still think it's a safe neighborhood. I don't think you'll see a mass exodus from the area anytime soon," Rice said.
No one was in custody for the shooting Monday afternoon.
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