Irving Park Violence Leaves Brudder's Bouncer, Store Owner Dead

OLD IRVING PARK — A bouncer at a popular Old Irving Park sports bar was shot through a window and killed and a coin shop owner was stabbed to death during a violent weekend in the normally quiet neighborhood.

As word of the incidents spread via social media, neighbors called the violence "horrifying" and "out of control" and expressed fear for how much worse things might get during the warmer summer months.

Cmdr. Elias Voulgaris of the Albany Park Police District posted updates on various community Facebook pages and kept civic leaders informed of developments in both Friday's murder of Petro Rymar at Bart's Coins & Collectibles and Saturday's shooting of a bouncer at Brudder's Bar & Grill.

In both cases, the location and/or the victim were specifically targeted by the suspects, Voulgaris said.

"While both of these incidents are very concerning, they were not random and do not have a nexus to the neighborhood other than both businesses being in the neighborhood," he wrote in a message to the Old Irving Park Association.

In an interview, Voulgaris said the stabbing at the coin shop was "definitely not gang related" and the victim of the bar shooting was not in a gang.

The commander said that regardless of what instigated the crimes, he understood that many residents were left with a sense of "What's going on here?"

He said he planned to increase the police presence around Brudder's, 3600 N. Pulaski Road, and was investigating any past incidents at the bar.

The victim in that shooting, a 51-year-old man, died of his injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Around 11:45 p.m. Saturday, the bouncer had reportedly broken up a fight at the bar. A gunman returned and fired through the bar's plate glass window, hitting the man.

Voulgaris said his communication with residents on Facebook, including passing along his email address, was designed to let neighbors know "they have me to turn to."

"Despite the Northwest Side in general, and Old Irving Park specifically, enjoying relatively low crime, we are still part of the urban environment," Lynn Ankney, president of the Old Irving Park Association, told DNAinfo via email.

"It’s a reminder that crime can happen anywhere, anytime and we need to continue to look out for one another," she said.

Indeed, it was a concerned neighbor who first alerted police that something was wrong at Bart's Coins, 3939 N. Pulaski Road, late Friday afternoon, according to Voulgaris.

A woman called in a report of a broken window, and when officers responded they discovered Rymar in the back of the shop, dead from multiple stab wounds, he said.

The "bad guy" had been buzzed into the store — the only form of access — and after an apparent robbery and subsequent attack on Rymar, the attacker attempted to flee, only to discover he needed to be buzzed out to exit, he said.

At that point, he shattered a front window, possibly with a stool, Voulgaris said.

"Frankly, had it not been for the person breaking the window ... who knows?" Voulgaris said.

In the shooting at Brudder's, in which a 51-year-old man was struck by a bullet fired from the street, Voulgaris said it appeared to be linked to an earlier disturbance at the bar.

The shooting took place just outside the official boundaries of The Villa, a tight-knit enclave of Craftsman homes and tree-lined boulevards.

"The Villa, as well as the greater Irving Park area, rejects the violence that took place this weekend. We will do everything in our power to work with law enforcement and our local elected officials to make sure that not only will the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice, but that the environment that allowed these crimes will cease to exist," said Dave Rohfling, president of the Villa Improvement League.

"It is unfortunate that a tragedy such as this has occurred, but hopefully it will be a catalyst for change," he said. "Violent crime has never been an issue in Irving Park, and will not be tolerated now or ever."

 

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