Some westside Evanston residents were stunned Monday afternoon following a news release that announced 17-year-old from the area had been charged with four felony counts related to Friday’s juvenile shooting at the nearby McDonald’s.
Anthony Conorquie, of the 1700 block of Dodge Avenue, was identified as the alleged shooter after Evanston police analyzed surveillance footage from the crime scene, conducted neighborhood interviews and collected various evidence, according to the news release issued Monday morning by the Evanston Police Department.
Due to the seriousness of the crime, Conorquie was classified as an adult and charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon without a Firearm Owner’s Identification card and attempted first-degree murder.
Evanston Fire Chief Greg Klaiber confirmed the victim’s name Monday evening. Tyree Green, a 16-year-old student at Evanston Township High School, was discharged from Evanston Hospital at press time, according to hospital representatives.
Police are generally ruling out gang conflict as the impetus for Friday’s shooting, said EPD Cmdr. Tom Guenther.
“I would say this is more of an ongoing dispute between individuals,” he told The Daily on Monday. “The department is not classifying it as gang violence at this time.”
As news trickled throughout west-end neighborhoods that Conorquie was behind the non-fatal shooting, local residents expressed straightforward surprise. A group of friends gathered just six houses north of Conorquie’s residence Monday night said they never suspected gun violence from their neighbor.
Area resident Niki Thornton described Conorquie as seemingly law-abiding and well-mannered. She said Monday morning’s news was almost unbelievable.
“I heard about the shooting, but I didn’t know he got charged,” Thornton said. “I thought he was an upstanding kid.”
Conorquie’s community perception differed among a separate cluster of classmates talking outside Tom’s Beauty Supply, 1704 Dodge Ave. When approached about Conorquie’s personality, they muttered expletives and scrambled south along Dodge Avenue toward the high school.
Guenther assured that such congregations of students after school dismissal have been the motivation for ramping up police presence near the shopping plaza at the corner of Dodge and Dempster Avenues. He said loitering high school students “have been known to cause problems for vendors in the area.”
However, he added there are no immediate plans to increase police patrol at the popular intersection in the wake of Friday’s shooting.
Still, the general character of west-side youth leaves much to be desired, said Lloyd Cassis, whose Darrow Avenue home is situated a single block east of Conorquie’s. He admitted he had not yet heard of Conorquie’s formal charging but was not fazed by the incident altogether.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Cassis said. “I work at the high school, so I’m quite familiar with the propensity to violence these kids display.”
Conorquie’s court date is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. May 25 at the District II courthouse in Skokie, according to the news release.
