3 men shot in gunfight at Near North parking garageon May 15, 2021 at 7:12 pm

Three men were shot during a gunfight at a parking garage on a busy Near North Side block Saturday morning, authorities said.

The men were “all shooting at each other” about 9:50 a.m. in the first block of West Grand Avenue, according to preliminary information from Chicago police.

Two men were taken with gunshot wounds in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, fire officials said. A third was taken to Stroger Hospital in fair-to-serious condition.

A trio of witnesses, who asked not to be named, described what they called a “weird” series of events in the garage connected to a luxury high-rise condominium in a bustling area of River North near Dearborn Street.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The group said they were on their way to their vehicle when they heard what sounded like a car crash.

“I said, ‘Oh no, somebody’s s— got smacked — something happened,'” one witness recalled.

The group also heard two “pops,” which turned out to be gunshots.

When the group drove their car to the third floor of the garage, they saw a vehicle crashed into a cement barrier with its airbags deployed. The witnesses said it was unclear what led up to the crash.

“It didn’t make any sense the way it was crashed,” said one person.

When the group heard another gunshot and someone yell, “Shots fired!” they reversed their car and drove away.

The witnesses told investigators what they saw. Officers told the witnesses that there were four suspects.

It was unclear if anyone was in custody Saturday afternoon.

Police blocked traffic on Grand Avenue between Dearborn Street and Wabash Avenue for the investigation, and pedestrians were blocked from walking on the normally busy stretch of Grand between State Street and Dearborn.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

CTA Red Line trains bypassed the Grand station, causing confusion for some tourists who were left to gawk at the rain-soaked crime scene.

Corey Kaplan, the owner of Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli in River North and Goose Island, said he had just gotten back from a delivery when he saw the first squad car pull up to the garage.

“It’s absolutely mind blowing… and the reason why I say that is because we really try to think that River North is safe, and especially on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m. There’s a lot of kids and families that are walking around, they’re coming out for their normal Saturday morning bagel,” he said.

Kaplan said he had never seen anything like Saturday’s incident in his 10 years in the neighborhood.

“It’s really bizarre and mind-blowing that this could happen,” he said. “But what I think what is safe to say is that no place is safe anymore. It’s really scary.”

At least 18 other people have been shot across the city in separate attacks since Friday evening.

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