ROGERS PARK — Police say they recovered a loaded handgun near Leone Beach Park in connection with a shooting that left two alleged gang members injured.
Officers investigating a report of shots fired about 8 p.m. on Aug. 30 found a witness in the 1200 block of W. Touhy Ave. who led them to the gun.
The witness said she had heard metal hitting asphalt after a man’s hand appeared to drop something over the top of a fence near the edge of the park, police said.
Officers found a 9mm gun loaded with seven rounds near the tire of a vehicle parked at the fence line.
The weapon was reported stolen from a licensed dealer near far north suburban Zion, according to police. Some 55 guns were stolen in May by thieves prying open a window at the shop.
Bill Morton, president of the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce told DNA Info Aug. 30 he heard the gunshots. Morton was in his Sheridan Road office and said at least five gunshots went off in succession.
"Neighbors at adjacent buildings were frightened and greatly disturbed by this act of violence," said Morton, adding that a man and child were in the park when gunfire erupted.
"We need some action to prevent this from happening again and make our park and beach safe for us all. Public safety should always come first."
One victim, 21, who police say is a Gangster Disciple, was sent to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston with multiple gunshot wounds. Doctors admitted him in serious condition with injuries to the upper left arm, and left wrist where one bullet was lodged. There was an additional wound to the pelvis, where a second bullet entered before stopping in his buttocks, according to medical personnel.
A second victim, also 21 and a documented Gangster Disciple, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and treated briefly for minor injuries, police said.
The second man told officers he had been playing basketball in the park by himself, despite his friend being there at the same time, when he heard gunshots, felt pain, and ran south out of the park. Police said he did not cooperate with the investigation and refused to speak with detectives.
A second witness told police she had been near Leone Beach when she saw the silhouette of a man inside the park raise a handgun and begin to fire. She dropped for cover but estimated around ten shots were fired before it was over, police said.
The hospitalized victim had an active warrant out for his arrest at the time he was shot, police said.
A 2012 study found that suburban gun shops are a main source of guns used in crimes in the city. Two shops, Chuck's Guns in Riverdale and Midwest Guns in Lyons, accounted for more than ten percent of the guns recovered between 2008 and March of 2012, according to the University of Chicago crime lab.
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