UPTOWN — Christopher House will be open Monday, but students will stay inside the school in Uptown after a man was shot Friday morning outside the school.
About 20 students and three teachers were on the playground of the school, at 4701 N. Winthrop Ave., when the 19-year-old man was shot down the block, said Jill Antoniewicz, Director of External Affairs at Christopher House.
"Staff responded rapidly, moving children into the building and ensured their safety... All parents are called and receive an additional written communication regarding the incident," said Antoniewicz via email.
Around 10:52 a.m. Friday, the man was walking near the intersection of Leland and Winthrop avenues when someone inside a grey car opened fire, striking him in his shoulder, said Officer Nicole Trainor, a Chicago Police Department Spokeswoman.
A bullet also struck a second floor window of the Christopher House, she said. A grey car had been sitting at the intersection as children played on the playground, a neighbor said.
Christopher House is a family of schools in Belmont Cragin, Logan Square and Uptown, focused on "providing education and resources to low-income children and their families, to succeed in school, the workplace, and life."
The Uptown location serves children as young as six weeks to up to age 12, said Antoniewicz.
The victim ran to the fire department at 1200 W. Wilson Ave. before being taken via ambulance to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was listed in good condition, Trainor said.
Neighbor Elizabeth Gerard was in her Winthrop Avenue apartment when she heard a group of about four young men talking outside her window, and then about a dozen shots rang out.
"It sounded like it came from outside my window," she said, adding that she heard the victim scream, "I've been hit."
Though there were construction workers and residents outside, she was told she was still the first to call police.
"I am unfortunately used to the sound of gunshots. This goes on at least once a month," said Gerard, who has lived on the block for about three years.
Two weeks ago, Gerard was at the drive-thru window at McDonald's, 1004 W. Wilson Ave., when shots rang out.
"I said f*** the food," she said. "Today was the last straw. I called my roommate at work and told her to be safe, closed my door and started looking for apartments in Evanston."
Social workers will be spending extra time with students to ensure they're coping with "the scary event" as best they can and parents are encouraged to talk with the children about their feelings, Antoniewicz said.
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