Evanston residents who live near the scene of Tuesday’s shooting said they are scared to go to work. They now will worry when their kids walk to school and are finding themselves wondering “Will I be next?”
Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) and Evanston Police attempted to quell such fears Thursday evening at a neighborhood meeting at the Robert Crown Community Center.
A 31-year-old Chicago resident was shot on the 1100 block of Florence Avenue early Tuesday night. The incident was not fatal, but the man was still at St. Francis Hospital, 355 Ridge Ave., Thursday night.
Police said the investigation is progressing. Officers are working to locate the shooter and determine his motive, said Police Chief Richard Eddington.
“Do we have direct info? No, but we have done this for a while. I think we’re pretty close to clearing this,” Eddington said. “We’re not strangers to this neighborhood.”
According to police, the victim received numerous calls on his cell phone while at a nearby residence. When he walked outside, he was shot. Police have taken the victim’s cell phone for evidence.
At the very least, Eddington said police do not think the crime was random and that the average resident had nothing to fear.
“Unless you’re buying drugs, gambling, or someone a lot of money your chances of getting shot aren’t very good,” he said.
Still, the explanation didn’t stop the 35 attendees from spending much of the meeting from debating the safety of the residence in which the victim was staying before he was shot.
The home’s residents declined to comment or give their exact address for publication.
“(The address) been a concern of the neighbors for 10 years,” said Sgt. Dennis Prieto. “Some summers are worse than others. 2004 was a bad one.”
According to Prieto, crime in the area had improved recently, and several officers stated that there was no reason to be concerned about the neighborhood or to add an extra patrol car before Tuesday’s assault.
Residents gave countless anecdotes of gambling, drug deals, drinking and violent language, much of which was occurring during regular business hours.
“I don’t always feel safe in my work place,” said Jean-Marie Freis, who works near the shooting. “Now they’re carrying guns and shooting at each other.”
Others said they don’t see what they can do to prevent crime in the area.
“You call, you call, you call,” said Mary Wisniewski who lives down the street. “Ninety percent of the people I know say ‘Why bother?'”
But EPD Det. Chuk Atum, a member of the drug and gang unit of the department’s Neighborhood Enforcement Team, said he has responded to numerous calls in the areas, and that the only way for things to get better is for residents to report every crime they see immediately.
“If you don’t see us, it doesn’t mean we’re not there,” Atum said.
In the mean time, an extra squad car will patrol the area for the next two weeks, Eddington said.
Jean-Baptiste and Evanston police will lead a follow-up meeting March 7 at the Robert Crown Community Center at 7 p.m.
