Evanston police say a 19-year-old man was fatally shot as he drove his car northbound on Ridge Avenue near St. Francis Hospital about 6:55 p.m. last night.
The car crashed into a fire hydrant and caught fire. The victim, identified by police as Leslie Calvin, was transported to St. Francis where he was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
Evanston police say a 19-year-old man was fatally shot as he drove his car northbound on Ridge Avenue near St. Francis Hospital about 6:55 p.m. last night.
The car crashed into a fire hydrant and caught fire. The victim, identified by police as Leslie Calvin, was transported to St. Francis where he was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
A large number of police officers searched a several-block area around the crime scene for hours last night, and police were reportedly seeking a car believed to have fled the scene. But as of early this morning, Commander Tom Guenther reported that no one was in custody.
Update 2:15 p.m.: Alderman Ann Rainey, whose 8th Ward includes the shooting scene, said the victim lived in the ward at 135 Callan Ave., and that, despite his young age, he had an extensive criminal record.
Ridge Avenue shooting
With this kind of violence happening within a 1000 feet of my home I would be all for video camera installations. I wonder if the police asked St Francis if they have security video at the front of the hospital and possibly showing Ridge St traffic?
A few years ago someone was shot in the alley between Hull Terrace and Austin, walked out to a yard on Hull Terrace and collapsed about 75 feet from my front door. I came out my front door and watched the medics cut his shirt off and put him on a stretcher.
I do hate the red light cameras that have caught me trying to squeeze a yellow light in Chicago, but given the amount of violence in my neighborhood, I would support one at the corner of Hull and Ridge, just to catch any back ground thugs.
The rest of the story?
Sun Times reports this morning that the victim had a long record of "assault, drug and weapons violations, according to the alderman of the ward where the shooting occurred." and was a known troublemaker and neighborhood terrorist.
So basically, here we have a kid who terrorized the south end of Evanston for years and finally got what he deserved, at no cost to the taxpayers.
Good. The more these criminals kill off each other, the better for the rest of us who do NOT want to resort to state-sponsored surveillance on every corner trading freedom for the illusion of security.