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ROGERS PARK — Three people were wounded in two separate shootings minutes apart Monday afternoon in Rogers Park and Edgewater, according to authorities.
Around 2:10 p.m. Monday, a 24-year-old man, a 28-year-old man and a third man were walking in the 1200 block of West Loyola Avenue when another man walked up to them and started an argument, police said. The man that started the argument then fired shots at the other three men, striking the 28-year-old in his hand and the 24-year-old in his arm.
Both victims were taken to the hospital in good-to-fair condition, police said.
The shooter was arrested in the 6400 block of North Sheridan Road and police recovered a gun, police said. The man had a valid concealed carry license and firearm owner identification card, authorities said.
The shooting happened across the street from the CTA’s Loyola Red Line station and Loyola University’s main campus.
Lydia and Maggie, two Loyola University students who asked to only be identified by their first names, walked out of their dormitory shortly after the shooting to find the block of Sheridan Road between Arthur and Loyola Avenue filled with cop cars, they said.
“It didn’t seem like anything was actively happening, so we kept walking and didn’t learn what happened until later,” Maggie said. “It’s scary to think we could’ve been out there if we’d left just a bit earlier.”
Both students are in their second year at the university, and they said they’ve never felt particularly unsafe around campus before. But the two women said they avoid walking around or using public transportation alone at night.
“The train stations can get a little scary after dark, but it seems like if you’re with a group nobody’s going to bother you,” Lydia said.
A spokesperson for the university didn’t respond to a request for comment about the incident happening so close to campus property.
Neighbor Marcus Smith, who lives off Arthur Avenue, said he feels the area surrounding the university is fairly safe, given the foot traffic of students and patrols by both Chicago Police Department and Loyola’s Campus Safety cars.
“I think what happened today is isolated,” Smith said, speaking of the shooting. “I’m not going to avoid walking around there or anything, and I don’t think we need more police. The place is pretty covered, so I don’t know what that could do.”
Another shooting happened just over a mile away shortly after the Rogers Park incident.
At around 2:25 p.m. Monday, a 47-year-old man was shot in his leg near Bryn Mawr and Winthrop avenues in Edgewater, according to police and an alert from Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth’s 48th Ward office.
Video surveillance from a local business shows a person standing on the south side of Bryn Mawr Avenue pull out what looks like a handgun and fire two shots toward the north side of the street. The victim is not shown in the video.
The man was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in fair condition, police said.
The business owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said there have been intense car accidents and issues with loitering on the block, but this is the first time there’s been a shooting near their store.
“I wouldn’t mind more police presence in the area,” the owner said, adding that it took about 12 minutes for officers to arrive on the scene, according to footage.
The Monday attacks come after a series of recent shootings near Rogers Park CTA stations, including three shot — one fatally — near the Howard stop last week. Edgewater has seen an uptick in shootings this year, including six people shot on a single Kenmore Avenue block a few blocks north of Bryn Mawr Avenue.
Manaa-Hoppenworth is working with the Lincoln (20th) Police District for more patrols in the area, but said more police presence isn’t the only solution to the “frustrating” issue of gun violence.
The alderwoman is advocating for a city office dedicated to gun violence prevention as one way to better coordinate safety measures, she said.
“They said crime is going down, but we don’t feel safe,” Manaa-Hoppenworth told Block Club Monday. “People are leaving Edgewater because they don’t feel safe, and we can’t afford to lose more people.”
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