After three people were shot at an Uptown Starbucks on Thursday night, Alderman James Cappleman says that the employees of the coffee shop failed to act on complaints of trouble at the establishment in the past.
In a statement, Cappleman says that drug dealing has been going on at the location for over a week, and that this isn’t a new problem.
“I will not tolerate businesses that do not work with the police and my office to maintain safety,” he said. “We have had issues for years with illegal activity at this business, with very little response or help from Starbucks’ management to correct the problems.”
A Starbucks spokesman disagreed with the alderman’s statement, saying that the store was “just a location” in the narrative of the crime that took place.
“Our store was not central to the crime that took place,” Spokesman Reggie Borges told NBC 5. “We are disappointed with the comments made by the alderman. Right now our focus is supporting our partners and our customers who survived this violence.”
The shooting occurred on Thursday night just after 8 p.m., according to Chicago Police. A drug deal gone wrong is being blamed for the shooting, which left one person dead and two more, including a 12-year-old boy, injured.
According to police, one of the individuals involved in the drug deal ran inside, and the gunman followed him into the restaurant, opening fire. The victim, a 28-year-old man, was involved in the drug deal, and two others, a 24-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy, were injured.
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The alderman’s office says that they have reported the Starbucks location in the past, and that the business has temporarily been closed for previous problems.
