CHICAGO – A shootout near the Howard CTA station Monday night left bullet holes in cars and shattered storefront windows, but no injuries were reported. It happened at the same spot where a man was executed in the middle of Howard Street earlier this year.
Surveillance video shared with CWBChicago shows the shooting in the 1600 block of West Howard around 10:25 p.m. The events unfold very quickly, so we’ll walk you through what happens so you know what to look for in the footage:
The video begins with two men standing next to a bicycle at the mouth of an alley at the top of the screen. A third man approaches from the left. The ensuing gunfight involves the approaching man and the man standing in the alley next to the wall.
When the approaching man, holding his right waistband, comes within approximately 15 to 20 feet of the alley, the first gunman pulls out a firearm and begins shooting at him.
The intended target quickly turns and takes cover behind parked cars on the other side of Howard Street. Further down the street you see many people running for safety as shots are fired.
As soon as the potential victim appears on the sidewalk behind parked cars, a gun is already visible in his hands. He fires shot after shot at the first shooter, who has fallen or taken cover behind the bicycle at the mouth of the alley.
Sparks fly from Howard Street as bullets hit the pavement one after another.
The first shooter carefully stands up and quickly backs away as he fires at the other man. Watch:
Probably not coincidentally, the murder that took place at the same location on June 17 involved somewhat similar circumstances (Videodiscretion strongly recommended):
As the victim in that case, 38-year-old Antoine Williams, stepped from the sidewalk onto Howard Street near the alley, a hooded gunman quietly emerged from the alley behind him.
When Williams reached the yellow lines in the middle of Howard Street, the gunman sprinted out of the alley and shot him in the head at close range. Williams died at the scene.
The killer ran back into the alley and fled in the same direction as the first gunman in Monday’s shootout.
No arrests have been made in Williams’ murder or Monday’s incident.
Rogers Park was never monitored by ShotSpotter when the city contracted with the gunfire detection company. That didn’t stop Councilwoman Maria Hadden (49th) from voting against resolutions that could extend the company’s contract.
The vast majority of the city’s aldermen, including most who represent neighborhoods that had ShotSpotter, wanted to keep the system in place. Many of the councilors who voted against it, like Hadden, never got to see firsthand how the system worked.
In an email explaining her final “no” vote last week, Hadden said she was “disappointed” that Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t have a plan in place when he terminated ShotSpotter’s contract at midnight last Monday.
The lack of a plan created a “public safety gap created by the termination of the contract,” Hadden wrote. “I have implored the Mayor to consider a brief extension of the discount ShotSpotter offers while I continue to [bids to find an] alternative technology that can address public safety more comprehensively and accurately.”
Exactly why Hadden would be “disappointed” that the city was discontinuing a technology it does not support is unclear. Either it works and should be left in place, or it doesn’t work and it should be removed. But Hadden seems to be saying that the technology works and should be kept until there is a replacement, while also saying that it doesn’t work and that she doesn’t support its use.
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