June 22--In what police are calling gang-related road rage, a man was shot and seriously wounded near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Ontario Street early this morning after he got out of a car and used a pipe to break the window of an SUV.
The SUV, gray or silver, then sped off and almost hit a Streets and Sanitation tow truck as it headed west on Ontario and south on Rush Street, police said.
The man, 31, suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, police said.
Police were investigating the shooting as a "road rage incident involving gang members," according to sources.
The shooting occurred around 12:30 a.m. just off Michigan Avenue, police said. The victim got out of a car as an SUV pulled up and someone inside said, "What are you about?" according to a police report. The victim replied, "I'm not about nothing" and the person in the SUV said "I'm a King," according to the report.
The victim was carrying a metal pipe and used it to break a window in the SUV, police said. Someone inside the SUV fired a shot, hitting the man in the right side of abdomen, the report stated.
Police believe the gunman was referring to the Latin Kings street gang. The victim belongs to a gang and has a long arrest record, police said. The victim's record includes battery to a peace officer in 2003 and possession of a stolen car.
Eight people witnessed the shooting and were questioned by detectives. No one was in custody.
"I heard the gunshot and turned around," said Roberick Johnson, 41, who's from Hyde Park and was walking on Michigan. "I didn't see anyone running, I just heard them hollering."
Johnson said he heard a single gunshot and saw the man lying between cars on Ontario Street. Police taped off the area using a squad car and a newspaper stand.
In other shootings overnight:
--Just before 2 a.m. a 28-year-old man was wounded near Ashland Avenue and Garfield Boulevard in Englewood, police said. He fled to the 5600 block of South Paulina Street and contacted police. He was stable at Advocate Christ Medical Center, according to police.
--A 26-year-old man was shot about 12:15 a.m. in the 2400 block of East 74th Place, police said. He was wounded in the arm and taken to South Shore Hospital, police said. Police said he was on a corner when someone opened fire. He tried to flee on a bicycle but fell to the ground, police said.
--About an hour earlier, a 22-year-old man walked into Mercy Hospital Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the leg, police said. He was stable. The man was shot in the block of 600 W. 47th Street, but no other details were available.
--A woman was shot about 11:15 p.m. in the 5600 block of West Washington Boulevard, police said. She was standing on her porch when she "heard shots and felt pain," police said. She drove herself to West Suburban Hospital and was stable.
No one was in custody for any of the shootings, police said.
Copyright 2012 - Chicago Tribune
