TRI-TAYLOR — Neighbors on a Tri-Taylor block are reeling after a weekend shooting that left a man dead.
"There's a party almost every day. It could be easily 20 to 50 people out here," said neighborhood resident Julian Boyd. "It's difficult for us because we live here."
Boyd said one-way streets hinder taking alternate routes around problem areas. "My wife works at UIC, and the only way to get over here is for her to drive down Lexington to get to Campbell," she said.
At 3:05 a.m. Sunday, Rashad Collins-Baker, 23, was found lying on the ground in the 2400 block of West Lexington Street, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.
Baker was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Residents pointed to a series of incidents in the vicinity of Western Avenue since the spring, including cars speeding the wrong way down alleys, drug-dealing, gunshots, people blocking the street with garbage cans and people hanging out at all hours.
Other area incidents include the shooting of a 12-year-old boy in May as he stood in a Near West Side restaurant, just days after a massive fight broke out nearby. Neighbors have complained about a controversial liquor store on Western and the large number of homeless people who frequent the playground in Altgeld Park.
"The bad part about this is that most of them don't even live in the neighborhood," Boyd said.
Referring to the now-shuttered William H. King Elementary, 740 S. Campbell Ave., which was closed in 2013, Boyd said, "Due to those parties by the King school, fights would break out, and my neighbor's car was damaged."
Boyd said that he and his neighbors have made several complaints to the police.
"They tell us to call to show a record, but nothing happens," Boyd said of police response. "They have the authority to enforce things, but once they move away from the street, [the trouble-makers] go on to private property."
Several neighbors in the Tri-Taylor area told DNAinfo that the problems in the neighborhood stem from three buildings in the 2400 block of West Lexington Street.
But one man who lives on the 2400 block of West Lexington said the block is normally quiet.
"The guy who was killed didn't live over here, but the guy they say shot him is a known gang member," the man said. "We've been grilling out there for years. When the police come by and ask us to move, we go over to the old King school. We've never had any problems with people in the neighborhood. When we grill, we ask the people in the neighborhood if it all right."
Boyd said that people hanging out in the street at all hours makes it difficult to live in the neighborhood.
"I'll be honest. I don't think anyone has gone over there to talk to them," Boyd said. "Nobody feels safe here. It's a balancing act. We're held hostage in our own neighborhood."
