BUCKTOWN — The owner of a Bucktown club not far from where two people were shot early Sunday says he had ejected them from his nightspot earlier and had called police.
A 21-year-old woman was critically wounded from a gunshot to her head and a 23-year-old man was also shot in the incident around 3:50 a.m. Sunday in the 1400 block of West Wabansia Avenue near Koncrete Nightclub, a late-hour bar at 1675 N. Elston Ave.
The owner of Koncrete, Carey Weiman, said that from what he's learned from police, the shooting came after a fight involving four men and a woman who came to the nightclub in the same car.
At a private party in the club that attracted about 250, a fight occurred involving five people, Weiman said, and "we kicked them out and then they were yelling and fighting outside."
Weiman said he had called 911 three times beginning at 3:30 a.m. before shots rang out. Weiman said he is cooperating with police and is troubled by the events.
The female shooting victim was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition early Sunday. The 23-year-old man suffered a wound to his leg and was in "stable" condition at the same hospital, police said.
Officer Bari Lemmon, Chicago Police spokeswoman said on Sunday that after leaving the club, a man from the group got into an argument with another passenger on the sidewalk, and he took out a gun and fired it, Lemmon said. No one is in custody.
As a neighborhood club owner, Weiman has had to deal with other problems before.
Weiman started The Prop House, a dance club at the same address as Koncrete in 1990. In 1992 he got a late-hour liquor license for The Prop House, which became Krush in 2008.
On Easter morning in 2012, a fatal shooting occurred near Krush. Weiman participated in deleterious impact public nuisance hearings with the city's Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) Department.
"We haven't had problems in a long time and I work very hard to keep it that way. That problem in 2012 happened across the street and what happened Sunday was a block away. We don't let the bad people in [to the club]," Weiman said.
Weiman said the hearings from 2012 were over in about six months, after three meetings. City officials could not immediately confirm that account.
Mika Stambaugh, a spokeswoman for BACP, said Monday that Weiman will face a licensing hearing on Jan. 11.
"First and foremost safety is our number one priority, therefore we need to ensure license applicant(s) are compliant with licensing requirements so that we can ensure safety for residents and maintain quality of life in our neighborhoods," Stambaugh said.
Stambaugh said there are 5 charges pending against Weiman, for failure to notify police on two occasions and failure to adequately implement and maintain a safety plan in two other instances, as well as one battery charge.
Stambaugh was not immediately able to provide a timeline of when the incidents that sparked the charges occurred. DNAinfo Chicago submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Chicago Police Dept. to obtain arrest and incident reports at the club.
In 2012, the club's name was changed to Koncrete. An online listing describes it as a "stylish nightspot featuring late-night dance parties in industrial digs with exposed-brick walls."
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said he was working with the 14th District police commander "to gather as much information as possible, hold those responsible accountable, and develop solutions to avoid future incidents."
Elaine Coorens from Our Urban Times, a community newspaper, was on the scene around 4 a.m. Sunday and interviewed two witnesses.
Johnnie McCaskel, a University Park resident, who was at the club to celebrate his upcoming birthday, told Our Urban Times that a friend of his was punched and "knocked out cold" after the fight from inside the the club had moved into the streets where the two victims were shot.
"It happened so fast, I am in shock. I don't know the man [the shooter]," McCaskel said.
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