LINCOLN SQUARE — An incident of gun violence in a Lincoln Square park has prompted police and Ald. Pat O'Connor's office to plan a "positive loitering" event for Friday evening.
Neighbors are encouraged to converge on Gross Park, 2708 W. Lawrence Ave., from 6-7 p.m. Friday.
According to O'Connor, on Aug. 18, there was a fight in the park between two men, with one beating the other with a gun.
At some point, the gun "discharged," the alderman said.
The victim was treated for "some scrapes," O'Connor said, but wasn't hospitalized and "was less than cooperative" with police.
Police were not able to provide additional detail about the incident.
The primary concern, O'Connor said, is that "an individual in the park was armed."
"Out of an abundance of caution," the alderman said he worked with the Lincoln (20th) District Police CAPS program to organize the positive loitering event, which falls exactly one week after the original incident.
There won't be a police roll call, O'Connor said.
"We just need people to be there in the park to make a positive statement," he said.
Though Gross Park, a former Latin King stronghold, had been the scene of occasional gang activity in the past, in more recent years the park "has had few problems," O'Connor said.
Programming that includes outdoor movie nights, Shakespeare productions and concerts has attracted an increasing number of neighbors of all ages to the park — a trend O'Connor wants to see continue.
"We want to maintain the relative peace and quiet," he said.
