A 15-year-old boy was shot in Wicker Park on Tuesday afternoon, according to Chicago police. The boy is currently in good condition, as reported by CPD.
Authorities are still trying to determine the exact location of the shooting. Police and EMS responded to an address on the 2100 block of West North Avenue after receiving calls about a person being shot around 4:26 p.m. Upon arrival, they found the boy with a gunshot wound to his right leg.
CPD stated that the boy was traveling in a vehicle when he was shot, but no further details have been provided about the incident or the possible suspects. Just five minutes before the reports of the shooting, police had responded to multiple calls for shots fired in the 1300 block of North Rockwell and the adjacent 1300 block of North Maplewood.
Area Five detectives are leading the investigation into the shooting. This incident marks the fourth shooting in Wicker Park and Bucktown this year, a decrease from the eight shootings reported last year. In 2022, a total of ten people were shot in the area, including three individuals during a single incident outside a nightclub in the 1500 block of North Milwaukee. The year prior, ten people were also shot, with five victims in a single incident outside a different nightclub on the same block.
Interestingly, Wicker Park was not covered by the city’s now-removed ShotSpotter gunfire detection network. This system was valuable for police in determining the locations of shootings, even when victims were unable to recall or purposely misled authorities.
Alderman Daniel La Spata, who represents the area where the shooting occurred, had been a vocal opponent of the ShotSpotter system. He had actively worked against pro-ShotSpotter ordinances, which ultimately failed. Most aldermen who opposed the technology represented safer neighborhoods where ShotSpotter had never been utilized.
CWBChicago, established in 2013 by residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown, aims to provide accurate public safety reporting with more context and detail than mainstream media outlets. While their coverage area has expanded to include Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side areas, their mission remains unchanged.
For original reporting and in-depth coverage on public safety issues, support CWBChicago’s work by visiting their website.
