Thursday, August 26, 2010

Shots Fired Near Buena Circle Playlot

Two accounts have come in of shots being fired near Buena and Kenmore:
"Around 6:00 PM I heard 4-5 gun shots sounding sounds...then a car when speeding down Kenmore going southbound towards Irving Park Road. Ran to my balcony to see a family running from the park. Within minutes police were coming from all directions scanning the area. Sounded like lots of activity on Irving and Sheridan. Police still circling as I am writing this.
(Update) Just spoke to police on the block.
Confirmed shooting on Buena and Sheridan. Police believe it was gang related. He gave no further details. The shooting came from a maroon sedan. The car's front right bumper is white."

From another reader:

"At about 6 pm tonight there was a shooting on W. Buena between Sheridan and Kenmore. Witnesses saw a handful of young men running eastbound, and less than a minute later two cars passed each other on Buena and exchanged gunfire. Red Monte Carlo was eastbound, and an old beat-up two tone darker car was westbound. Cops with sirens driving around now."

50 comments:

  1. I heard these shots -I live very close to the circle-the car was speeding so fast down Kenmore.I was afraid this would happen.The gangs that are in Uptown are now comming here.You never see patrol cars on Kenmore anymore.Please be careful everyone.This happened in day light.

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  2. DAMS---Dreaded Area Montrose South

    Now joins

    DAMN---Dreaded Area Montrose North

    Nice to see our shooters are expanding their 'range'.

    Thankfully they apparently didn't hit anyone.

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  3. I know it goes without saying that this is effin' ridiculous. Seriouly? Two cars shooting at each other like it's the Roaring '20s? On a busy street in the daytime?

    You'd like to think that things are going to get better by the time a new administration gets put in, but can anyone wait that long?

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  4. What year / color was the Monte Carlo? Any
    descriptiond of the people in the car? I need
    know who to avoid when I'm out with my
    family.

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  5. I know I am alot older than most on this site.Tell you this,if we do not do something fast ,it will be just like what goes on in Uptown now.My parents lived on Kenmore when I was born-been back here since 1987 and the only way we can even try to stop this mess ,is to complain to neighborhood realations that we need patrol cars.You hardly ever see them on this street anymore.

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  6. Man On The Street - The problem is Daley and the moral of the police force. He has basically handed over Chicago to the gangs. That said I really hope it makes a difference once Shiller is out. It certainly cant hurt!

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  7. Around 5:45 I was in the yard with our dogs when I heard a blood-clurding scream come from our alley in the 4400 block of Clifton. I walked to the alley and witnessed a black male teen in a white T-shirt screaming into his Cell--"GET OVER HERE NOW!".

    He ran down the alley towards Clifton and Montrose. Two seconds later my neighbors called and said they heard gun shots, saw a slew of black males running into 4433--4437 N Clifton entrances, screaming, "WE GOT EM, WE GOT EM!" We all called 911. There was a frenzy of about 10 more young black males running down Clifton into this CCDC building on Clifton.

    I went to the front of our building and witnessed a frenzy of black males running into the south gangway of 4433 N. Clifton. My neighbors also called 911 again and we witnessed some of these males looking out the landing windows of 4435 N. Clifton hallway windows.

    The police came, walked around, walked by the back of the building and then males started walking, one by one, out of the building, past the police, over to Magnolia.

    I understand that the police can't enter this CCDC building without more evidence. The 4433 N. Clifton building is HQ for the Black P-Stone Rangers. There are at least two units that are home to these gangs and their leaders.

    We, all of us, the gang and drug tact units, the building owners, the residents who live in and around this building who want to live in peace, and our elected officials who care about community safety like Greg Harris have to stand up together.

    The gangs are on their way out and they're scared as hell--that's why they're in a frenzy. Like bees in hive that's on fire, they're fighting for their gang way of life. Bees die at the end of summer.

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  8. Chilling story Katharine, without a doubt. There is a 'frenzy' going on.

    Was at the stoplight at Montrose and Clarendon just after the Buena shooting, and I saw a car filled with white t-shirts recklessly turning the corner south, at an incredible speed.

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  9. Neil...

    I know. He squandered money that could have been used to pay for more cops when he blew that parking meter deal...big time. That, plus the department's problems with morale related to Weiss, means you're going keep seeing this crap, unfortunately.

    Daley and Weiss need to be gone, but sorry to say that won't mean the situation will get better.

    I would say that the best thing would be to take the handcuffs off the cops and take your chances with lawsuits and the heat from the "activists", but not sure if the bad PR would be worth it.

    Then again, how's that PR doing now?

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  10. It will get worse.I wise they would send these punks over to war if they like shooting ,instead of our boys getting killed.They get caught -we tax payers support these punks in jail-I love America,but the system is not working.I agree-most of these gang members live somewhere,and CHA should do inspections more on who lives with who.

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  11. Welcome to the Terrordome!

    As the gang members become more entrenched, prompting them to become more territorial, the violence and its frequency, will increase. The invaders will not stop until Uptown resembles the toxic wasteland that was once the projects… torn down by the Daley Administration.

    The police are out-manned, out-gunned, and emasculated by a judicial system that coddles criminals. And since we live in a city that denies its citizens their constitutional right to carry a gun, the odds of us taking back the streets on our own, are not in our favor.

    What we need now is a hefty dose of reality. You cannot disarm brutality with a bouquet of flowers. You cannot reason with a monster. You cannot charm the devil. We now have psychotic, sociopaths among us; and if you think you can reason with them, you are kidding yourself. They only thing these people respond to, is what they dish out.

    Personally, I am thinking about moving. If I wanted to live in fear, I’d buy a home in Englewood.

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  12. The Shooting didnt occur at Buena and Kenmore. It occured over on Magnolia again. I personally have a good friend that works the beat in this area of the 23rd district and he confirmed the shooting was not on Buena or near the playlot.

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  13. You cannot disarm brutality with a bouquet of flowers.

    No, but you can with money. There have been more than a few neighborhoods in the city with problems like this and worse - Wicker Park, Cabrini, etc. - where it took a committment from people to fight against it, not with guns, but by refusing to back down. No one is offering flowers to these guys, but the people here are doing the things they need to do to change it: calling the cops everytime something happens, keeping their eyes open, demanding that poor conditions in the neighborhood be fixed. They're hampered by an alderman who has cashed in her chips and is just waiting to get out of Dodge. But like I said, it can happen. And it happens when the people who are Daley relies on, the taxpayers (of which the thugs are not) hammer at the city to take care of this. The escalations of the problems are fairly recent (I worked at CHA during the Plan For Transformation, so I know what's behind it), so it's going to take a bit long. but it can be done. if someone would have told you there'd be condos and dog parks and fountains and flowers at Cabrini 10 years ago, no one would have believed it.

    Those who leave now are going to miss out on something great in the future. Hang in there.

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  14. My view is the playlot and I was home at this time and I didn't see or hear anything going on at this time. I was even outside at 6:30 and there wasn't anything going on at the circle..?

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  15. Robert,

    How exactly did the shooting not occur at Buena and Kenmore when multiple people have commented - and the original post stated as well - that there was indeed a shooting at Buena and Kenmore? People commenting that the heard shooting in the vicinity of the playlot and saw a strong police presence sounds pretty convincing to me, regardless of what your friend may have said about a separate shooting elsewhere.

    It really worries me that something like this has occurred south of Montrose now. I walk north up Sheridan every single night, sometimes around that time of night knowing that it's generally pretty safe around there.

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  16. If your going to be tough and protect your area-lets go.I will help in any way I have learned over 23 yrs. Email me.Just talking does not get it done.

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  17. This is great-I wish someone would contact me about the old Kenmore lol.I could write a book.Talking on a site does not get it.Action does.

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  18. The police may have found the two tone car abandoned on the 1300 block of West Irving Park around 8PM. I happened to be walking by and saw a car that matches that description.

    The car was dark and the hood was white.

    About 7 cop cars around it.

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  19. I really think the site is great.Amuses me some of comments.Would love to meet the creator of site.Very good -BLESS.

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  20. Man on the Street, in the cases of Cabrini and Wicker Park, those neighborhoods were transformed after the garbage was tossed out. Until Uptown does the same, nothing will change. As long as those CHA housing sites are in the area, the bullets will continue to fly and the neighborhood will continue to decline.

    I moved to Uptown in 1993. Back then, we didn't have most of the things we have now. No sidewalk cafes. No dog parks. No Target. And very few banks. But guess what?!! Uptown was a much better place, than it is now. Wanna know why?! Back then, most of the people in Uptown were decent, hard working citizens. A lot of the properties weren’t pristine, but people were friendly and cared about where they lived.

    You are right about one thing. The concerned citizens who are calling the cops and remaining vigilant, are definitely doing the right thing. But a gang infestation is like a roach infestation. If you see five roaches, you can bet there are thousands more, hiding in the shadows. And how many times can you call the Orkin Man, before you realize you need to nuke the place, or find someplace else to live?

    It makes me sad, but the efforts to gentrify this area seem to be having an adverse effect. When I see large groups of thugs hanging out on corners, something I never saw in the old days, it makes my stomach turn. When I hear about women being robbed on the bike trail, or people being afraid to go for a walk, it’s a sure sign that I am not in Uptown, anymore. At least not the Uptown I used to know.

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  21. Just wanted to let everyone know... I logged more shots fired in Uptown, this morning. This time the party was on Winthrop!!!!!

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  22. Robert - you're 100% wrong. It occurred at kenmore/buena near the playground, and was confirmed by police.

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  23. Police are outmanned by guns on the sreet and a shortage of manpower, and now communication systems too! Scary that these little thugs get on their cell phone and mobilize...creating terror in the process while everyone else goes about our lives. Not surprising though.

    Maybe the neighbors on Magnolia, Buena Circle, and Uptown at large could try the same thing. See something you don't like...mobilize too. Start a txting tree, turn on your lights, call 911, disrupt the flow.

    With all the crap that going on, I was surprised more people from South of Wilson did not show up for positive loitering last night. Good turnout, but in talking with the people that were there, I would have expected to see more people who are closest to the probelm out and trading ideas and forming plans. Kind of like the gangs were doing 500 yards away on the Sunnyside Mall.

    I mean maybe positive loitering isn't your thing (which is understandable)...but would be great to see the block clubs step up, recruit some folks, and help lead the change as a community.

    I fully agree with Man on the Stree that those who move along MAY miss out on a good thing...but that good thing is going to take work. A lot of people who want to likely move are "stuck" due to the economy or other situations that make the sale of property or renting of a new apartment difficult. So, while we are all here, let's continue to take local action to improve our own fate.

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  24. There seems to be some discrepency as to where teh shooting was last ngiht. I live at the corner of Sheridan and Beuna and heard gunshots from my house around 6 pm. My windows were shut bc the air conditioning was on, so it could not have been far from there. After, my husband and I went outside and there were several people that witnesses the scene of young men fleeing and two cars speeding off.

    Can we recognize that this happened in an area that most of us deem "safe." I know that people in our neighborhood assume that crime happens at montrose and north, but last night it was outside of my door.

    The strange thing was that as a group of us were standing at the corner, several cop cars sped by with their lights on but did not stop to talk to the witnesses there, who had a good look at the guys who fled the scene and the cars that sped away.

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  25. The shots were in Bunea Park.Please evryone ,keep eyes open and report anyone you do not know hanging around any property.The gangs are moving this way.It has got to hot for them in Uptown. We do not want any of our children shot around the Circle or school.Years ago gangs used the circle as their meeting and shooting area.

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  26. GET ST. MARY'S CHURCH INVOLVED!!!

    Back in the 80's I attended Mass there occasionally and saw lots of "downscale" housing and other turnoffs nearby. Over the years Kenmore has become a much nicer street, other improvements have come along, and I do believe the church has benefited. More people joining, more kids in the school, etc.

    I'm sure that the priests and lay workers there do not want to go back to the bad old days. Especially since there is an elderly retired priest living there (a VERY nice guy!), an active seniors' group and again, lots of school kids, all of whom could be in danger of being innocent victims by being in the wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time.

    Preachers in other neighborhoods and suburbs have become highly visible (if occasionally self-surving and off-putting) leaders of anti-crime crusades and efforts to give positive alternatives to young people before it's too late. (That's their "job," saving souls, right?)

    It might be worth a try here.

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  27. Citizen and Bill,
    I live At Buena and Sheridan and was home at 6:10pm in front of my house with the dog. I didnt see anything. The cop on the beat who is a friend i grew up with said the shooting was on Magnolia and they offenders went southbound down kenmore after the shooting trying to get away. Listen I am not saying I am 100%, but can only go by the fact of what I saw with my own eyes and a word from the police. Was there at shooting yes 100% and I that is the main issue. Is the fact that may have occured 1 place or 3 blocks away an issue. No because it still happend. I just wanted to let you know what I was seeing as I was surprised to the the report of the location. I could be wrong, but thats what i saw from my vantage point.At the end of the day this shit needs to change. I am 100% throwing by backing behind Office Michale Carroll. My Dad and Brothers are all Chicago Cops and I can tell you. We need a cop in office to get some changes made. They know what goes on. They see if first hand. Now that Hellen is gone, I think we all agree Violence and the gang issues are #1, followed by the abundance of section 8 homes in our area. I am all for section 8, but the abundance of it in our ward is more than anywere else in the city. Its time to spread the wealth to other wards.

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  28. It seems like we have different stories, so if I am wrong I stand corrected. I just didnt see anything and I live next to bar on buena.

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  29. I now carry a can of WASP spray in my purse. It's more effective than MACE---it sprays farther and more true when aimed at whomever.

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  30. "...the efforts to gentrify this area seem to be having an adverse effect..." & "...When I see large groups of thugs hanging out on corners, something I never saw in the old days..." Timothy Fitz

    I do not agree with your logic. The criminal activity is not caused by gentrification. It's caused by a high concentration of subsidized housing. During the good old days your refer to there was probably less public housing and less "pristine property & sidewalk cafes." Now there is a higher concentration of public housing as well as more "pristine property & sidewalk cafes". I don't see how a few cafes & rehabbed condo buildings caused the violence. You're free to debate the pros & cons of gentrification however the recent gang violence cannot be described as "having an adverse effect". Do not blame gentrification for drive by shootings it literally has nothing to do with the violence. Police reports describe it as gang related - so does common sense.

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  31. I still just don't think this happened at the Buena Circle Playlot...I was watching tv on my couch slightly west of the intersection of Buena and Sheridan, (with a view of the playlot) windows open, from 4pm till 6pm, and heard nothing. I did see police cars flying south on Sheridan road, a couple of SUV's with lights and sirens around that time. I would have heard gunshots, because I can hear people talking at the playlot.

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  32. Katherines post is the best.

    Bees die at the end of summer.
    I think there is a kernel
    of truth there.
    The gangers are acting weird.
    Because they are losing their
    grip.

    They have called attention to themselves for too long in this neigborhood.

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  33. 30X, Thanks for the follow up. Thats what I was saying as well. I didnt witness a shooting so, If anyone personally witnessed the shooting it would be great if they could chime in. It would also be nice if the contacted the police if they have not yet done so.

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  34. Sorry to say, but yes this happened at Buena and Sheridan. I was in the dog park at the time and witnessed it. We called 911 to report it, give a description of the vehicles involved and some of the people in the park went to find a cop to give a statement, since none of them came over to interview any of us. Just wanted to clear up the confusion that yes, this is happening in our backyards.

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  35. Let me clear things up... Shots fired calls came in at the 4400 block of Clifton. A minute later shots fired calls came in at Buena and Sheridan with 2 vehicle descriptions, but unknown which car was doing the shooting.

    The Clifton shots fired had no witnesses and no evidence, but the P Stones were running around in a frenzy.

    The Buena shooting involved one of the cars (dark colored with a white hood) striking parked cars when fleeing.

    Later the dark car with a white hood was pulled over at 1330 W Irving. The car was impounded and the driver was issued tickets. It was determined that he was the one shot at. He denies gang affiliation and is not from the neighborhood. I'm not saying that he is not a gangbanger, he's not from uptown.

    In other news Raffael Hammond was arrested for gang loitering yeaterday.

    And thanks to the guy in the grey minivan who told me about the silver and black Raliegh M50mountain bike that was abandoned in front of Bronco Billy Park by a P Stone after the Clifton Shooting yesterday. I inventoried it. IF THIS BIKE WAS STOLEN FROM ANY UU READERS BRING SOMETHING WITH THE SERIAL NUMBER TO THE 23RD DISTRICT TO GET YOUR BIKE BACK.

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  36. "It makes me sad, but the efforts to gentrify this area seem to be having an adverse effect."

    Not saying your wrong, I've only lived in Uptown a few years, and dont know much about what it was like before that. It just seems to me that this is an issue of "correlation not meaning causation." In other words, just because the effort to "gentrify" the neighborhood are happening at the same time as an escalation in gang violence, does not mean the two have anything to do with each other.

    I am not in favor of turning Uptown into Lincoln Park or anything (If I wanted a neighborhood like that, I would move. I cant even stand driving through LP!!), but it seems to me that things like a Target, some Starbucks, and other things like cafes, etc. would have the opposite impact on the neighborhood, a positive one. I imagine when people refer to the "gentrification" of the neighborhood, they are talking about people like me who want more of these places, and I dont think too many of the people that fall into this category are out shooting at each other and robing people.

    I hope this situation can be solved, but I dont know the answer. This neighborhood has so much to offer, and I want to get back to taking advantage of it!

    I am not trying to argue with you,I just want your persepective for a counterpoint, maybe I'm wrong...

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  37. Ah, so there were two separate shootings! Thanks for clearing up the confusion, Frustrated 50.

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  38. Didn't see or hear the shooting but was coming home from work on Irving around this time. Speeding cops coming from everywhere going north on Sheridan. It's great to think that after working for 12 hours I could come home and catch a stray bullet from one of these scumbags. They should be careful though because if they start hitting innocent bystanders, who will pay the taxes that allow them to live amongst us?

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  39. I do believe it may have been two incidences because I was riding my bike and saw heavy police presence in the middle of Magnolia by the playlot.

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  40. -----In other news Raphael Hammond was arrested for gang loitering yesterday.-----


    Best news of the day.

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  41. FYI, there is a way you can txt the police on your cell if you see something.

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  42. Stash...

    I think we agree on this a bit, just maybe differ a bit on how and when it will happen. But, yeah, it's going to take work.

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  43. Fitz,

    Trust me, I know what the change came about at Cabrini...I worked for the CHA when it all started. The changes came about at almost the same time: new mixed income housing was built as some tenants were booted out for various reasons. The more buildings they cleared out, the more new businesses came in.

    But the key was developing the rules for booting people out. It's a little toughter to do with Section 8 housing, but I think you can take a landlord to housing court for various violations (poorly maintained building, drug dealing in a building, etc.). You have to make them so tired of havviing to go to housing court that they either boot out the troubled tenants or shut the building down, forcing tenants to move elsewhere.

    And I moved to the Uptown/Edgewater area in '92 so we're pretty much in the same boat.

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  44. @Frustrated50
    Please give us you best advice on how to best fight this trend. I used to ride down Montrose/Kenmore/Buena to get to the lakefront now that is out of bounds too. I now must bike south on Clark to access through Lakeview. What can we do besides blog our complaints, this is getting out of hand. I, for one, am fed up.

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  45. I did some digging into the guy with the black car with the cream hood, and I discovered that although he does not live in Uptown he was arrested for gang loitering in March with Antonio Sanchez AKA Baby Jesus a high ranking Vice Lord from Clarendon Park. Most of his arrests were in Vice Lord Country.

    I deduce that this Vice Lord was driving E/B on Montrose when the P Stones recognized his car and chased him to Buena and Sheridan where the P Stones shot at him. So this was P Stones Shooting at Vice Lords.
    Then the next day the Vice Lords retaliated and Baby Jesus was arrested for trespassing no gun was found.

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  46. It turns out that the guy with the dark colored car with cream hood is a Vice Lord from Clarendon Park. He does not live in the neighborhood but his rap sheet lists uptown addresses of arrest, specificaly Vice Lord country. I suspect that the car was driving E/B on Montrose when the P stones recognized the car and possibly shot at him ay Montrose and Clifton then got into a maroon monty carlo and chased him and shot at him near Buena and Sheridan.

    So common sence dictates that the P Stones shot at the CVL's. The next day the CVL's retaliated by shooting at the P stones

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  47. On Friday night around 11:30pm I walked past the Buena Circle Playground and there were about a half dozen teens drinking in the playground. I called the police to alert them and I hope they were able to kick them out.

    As neighbors, we all need to be on a heightened level of awareness and we all need to be proactive in our efforts not to let a few bad seeds take over our streets. Mothers should feel safe taking their children to the playground, people should feel safe walking their dog to the park, etc.

    If you see suspicious behavior, call it in to the police. Report news of crime (like this incident) to your condo associations. Make sure that your neighbors who may be unaware of news like the recent shooting at the Buena Playlot become aware. Share with them Uptown Update as a resource for news and information. The more people we inform, the more people we will have looking out for each other. In turn this will result in more push back from us on these thugs as well as putting more pressure on the police to patrol our neighborhood streets. Lastly, get out and vote.

    We can do this...

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  48. Actually they should lock the park at nite and if these teens still go in the park they should lock them up for trespassing.I agree with you John 100%,we need more police patrols for sure now.

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