Man shot several times in alley in 5900 block of Northwest Hwy in Norwood Park; incident could be related to earlier dispute
by BRIAN NADIG
A 40 -year-old man was shot twice in the abdomen following a verbal altercation with another man at about 10:15 a.m. Sunday, June 13, in the 5900 block of North Northwest Highway in Norwood Park, according to Chicago police.
The man drove himself to Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center, 7435 W. Talcott Ave., where he crashed his vehicle into the hospital’s entrance, according to police. He was in serious condition at the time he was admitted to the hospital, police said.
The shooting took place in an alley behind a building on Northwest Highway where the two men are believed to live, police said. Police have described the incident as “possibly” gang-related.
“This whole situation sucks and is not indicative of the neighborhood,” Alderman Anthony Napolitano (41st) said. “This is something that was targeted (and) not random.”
The 16th (Jefferson) Police District is assigning extra resources to the area, Napolitano said. He added that the incident illustrates the need for more officers in the district, as it and the rest of the Chicago Police Department struggle with personnel shortages due to a large number of recent retirements.
The community is fortunate that “a good number” of the district’s officers live in the ward and that will add to the district’s heightened awareness of any additional problems in the area, Napolitano said.
Another recent shooting in the district was reported to have occurred at about 9:25 a.m. Thursday, June 10, in the 6600 block of West Melrose Street when a man was shot in his right buttock during an apparent domestic-related incident, police said. A male suspect was taken into custody in connection with the incident, and a gun was recovered, police said.
Through June 6, there were 11 reported shooting incidents in the 16th District compared to nine in 2020 during the same period, according to police.
Overall serious crime is up 23 percent this year (595 incidents compared to 485 in 2020) in the 16th District but only up 1 percent from 2019 and down 28 percent from 2018.
The number of reported criminal sexual assaults are up 150 percent this year, with 30 reported incidents compared to 12 during the same period in 2020 (26 in 2019 and 22 in 2018). Both robberies and aggravated batteries are up 17 percent, with 55 this year and 47 last year in each category.