Residents of a quiet North Side neighborhood are shaken after waking up to seemingly random gunfire early Wednesday that damaged three cars parked on the block.
The cars were struck by bullets in the 2600 block of W Sunnyside in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood around 1:05 a.m., according to Chicago police. That was when there was a call of shots fired, according to police, but police said responding officers were unable to find anyone injured or any damage at that time.
A few hours later at 5:45 a.m., a woman called police to report that her car, which was parked on the street, had been damaged by gunfire. When she went outside at 5:45 a.m., she found a bullet hole in the front fender, according to police. The car parked directly in front of her was also damaged, according to police, having been struck on the hood, rear passenger door, and passenger side tire.
“We couldn’t tell if it was firecrackers or gunshots,” said Lincoln Square resident Matt Novak, who woke up to the gunfire. “It sounded like gunshots so we checked the windows, checked the kids rooms, didn't find any holes.”
But when Novak was headed to work Wednesday morning, he did find a bullet hole—in his car. His was one of the three hit in what 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar called “a random act of violence.”
The shooting “was not targeted toward any particular individuals or groups of individuals,” Pawar said in a statement. “It is certainly a troubling incident that is being taken very seriously.”
"You get scared, you run into your kids’ rooms, you check on them first and foremost,” Novak said. “Just to see how close it is to your home, it’s scary"
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One of the cars had a flat tire and was towed away Wednesday morning, and while neighbors are upset by the incident, they also expressed relief that no one was injured.
