2 fatally wounded at 31st Street Beach overnight during exchange of gunfire; several in custody
Two people were shot and killed overnight Friday near 31st Street Beach — the second deadly shooting in the area this week — and an alderman is now calling for an early closure of the popular summer gathering place.
A 23-year-old man and two 22-year-old women have been killed since Wednesday.
In a statement, Ald. Lamont Robinson, 4th, called the shootings “unacceptable.” He said violence interrupters are doing nightly outreach to help de-escalate situations. He is calling for moving the beach’s closure time from 11 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“We need enforcement of the 9 p.m. closure until we can ensure the beach is safer for all beachgoers and the surrounding community,” he said in the statement.
Multiple people are in police custody after an exchange of gunfire Friday, fatally wounding two victims overnight near 31st Street Beach, Chicago police said.
Shortly after 3:15 a.m., police responded to a call of a person shot in the 3100 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive and found a man, 23, and a woman, 22, shot multiple times. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
A preliminary investigation revealed the man was exchanging gunfire with multiple people who were on the scene. Several men have been placed into police custody. Charges were pending as detectives investigate.
On Wednesday, another fatal shooting occurred in the area.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday, officers discovered two women wounded in the 600 block of East 31st Street. A 22-year-old woman suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken in critical condition to Insight Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.
A 20-year-old woman was wounded in the left thigh and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was listed in good condition. No one was in custody, and detectives are investigating.
At 9:30 a.m. Friday, officers were still working the scene from the early morning shootout in the parking lot near the beach. Caution tape and cars blocked the area where the shooting occurred.
Nearby, the beach was peaceful. Several people were sunbathing on the sand. Kids played in the water.
Joshua Barr, 42, sat at the end of the concrete pier looking at Lake Michigan, his bike propped up against a pole. He said he rides down the path almost every morning from his home in Lakeview. He’d read about the shooting overnight.
But Barr said he doesn’t let crime deter him from living his life. He said he always bikes down in the early morning, and there are rarely people out.
“It’s kind of happening everywhere now,” he said. “I have little kids and there’s always a concern that something can happen.”
