Two men shot in parking lot of Taco Burrito King at Harlem and Higgins
by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI
Two men were shot following an incident at about 3:40 a.m. Sunday, June 21, in the parking lot of the Taco Burrito King restaurant, 5509 N. Harlem Ave., and criminal charges are pending, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police.
Officers responded to a call of person shot and discovered a man on the ground with blood on his body next to a handgun and a woman crying over him, according to police. The 28-year-old man was transported in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the wrist, upper arm, left leg and the left torso to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital for treatment, police said. Paramedics found 8 grams of a substance suspected of being crack cocaine and several pills in the man’s possession while he was being transported to the hospital, according to police. The man was placed into custody after treatment, police said.
Video surveillance from the restaurant reportedly shows the 28-year-old man exiting his car and talking to a 21-year-old man in the parking lot and then striking him twice in the face, according to police. The video reportedly shows that the 21-year-old then shoots the other man several times and flees out of the lot through the restaurant and across the street to a Mobil gas station at 7159 W. Higgins Ave. to a restroom where he left blood stains, police said.
During an investigation officers found a handgun in the 5300 block of North Neva Avenue and an Illinois State Police trooper placed the 21-year-old man into custody following a foot chase to the parking lot of the Cozy Corner Restaurant and Pancake House, 5454 N. Harlem Ave., according to police.
An investigation revealed that the man had a gunshot wound to the hip, “possibly by holstering the handgun into his pants,” the report said, but it has not been determined how it was sustained, and he was also transported to Lutheran General for treatment, according to police.
Charges are reportedly pending against the two men and detectives are still investigating the incident.
