A 15-year-old boy is responsible for shooting a tourist during a “teen takeover” in Streeterville on March 9, Chicago police say. A US Marshals task group apprehended the boy near the 87th Street Red Line stop around 11:30 a.m. Monday.
“Strong video evidence and persistent detective work by Chicago Police has led to an arrest in the March 9 shooting of a 46-year-old tourist from Connecticut during a teen takeover event,” Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said in an email to his constituents on Monday evening. “The investigation into another shooting during a similar violent takeover event that wounded a 15-year-old boy March 28 continues.”
The boy faces aggravated battery charges for discharging a handgun. Because he is under the age of 16, his case will most likely be heard in juvenile court, which is closed to the public.
The woman informed police that she was strolling with her son between Columbus and Illinois at 8:12 p.m. on March 9 when they heard shots, and a bullet wounded her right forearm. They yelled for aid and dashed across the bridge to safety.
At the time of the incident, a big crowd of young people, mostly teens, had assembled on Streeterville. A brawl broke out, and one of the participants fired rounds, sending a bullet flying down Illinois Street and striking the woman. On March 13, CPD released surveillance photographs of four people accused of being involved in the altercation.
Investigators discovered seven shot casings on the north side of Illinois Street, which stretches west from McClurg. Crime scene tape surrounded the northwest corner of the intersection in front of a BMO Bank.
Hopkins, the alderman, is urging his constituents to contact Mayor Brandon Johnson directly and urge that the administration take action to solve the ongoing issue of teen gatherings that turn violent in downtown.
