5 Shot In Uptown Along Safe Passage Route
By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 20, 2013 2:00PM
Five people were wounded early Monday evening when a gunman opened fire on a group of people near an Uptown bus stop located near a “safe passage” route for schoolchildren. One of the wounded is currently on life support.
The shooting occurred around 6 p.m. outside Uptown Baptist Church at Wilson and Sheridan when a white sedan passed the bus stop and someone in the car pulled out a semi-automatic weapon and started shooting. The driver of the car then made a U-turn and sped away from the scene, leaving over 20 shell casings, glass from the bus stop and “blood everywhere,” according to a witness who spoke with the Tribune. Uptown Baptist Church head pastor Rev. Michael Allen tweeted there were pools of blood at the church’s steps and mistakenly believed one of the victims had died.
Bout 20 shots fired outside church during Monday night meal. 5 people shot. 1 dead. Blood pools at church steps. Pray for us.
— Michael Allen (@ubcreal) August 19, 2013
The victim on life support is a 21-year-old man who suffered a gunshot wound to the head. He’s currently at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The other victims are a 26-year-old man who was shot in both arms; a 32-year-old man who was shot in the ankle; a 44-year-old man who suffered gunshots to the knee and thigh and a 58-year-old man who was shot in the hand.
Police said the incident was sparked by a conflict between two gangs and that patrols were on the lookout for any retaliation. The sedan was later found along the safe passage route near McCutcheon Elementary School, 4865 N. Sheridan Rd. Uptown Update has photos and a timeline of the shooting and its aftermath. It was the second shooting along a safe passage route in as many weeks. Last week, Lamont Grant was charged with murder in the shooting death of Ralph McNeal, who was killed along a safe passage route on the South side.