Good, law-abiding people outnumber the gangbangers at least 500-to-1 here, so what can we do to get this stupidity to stop?We're receiving many reports of shots fired around 5:45 p.m. at Leland and Malden, and a heavy police presence afterwards, as far east at Leland and Kenmore. Please fill in any details in the comments.
Was on my computer and heard four shots (possibly five); looked out my window and saw a man walking his dog, dropping to the ground for cover. Grabbed my keys and ran out the door to see if anyone was hit. People were calling the police on their cells. One cop showed up fairly quickly, but just kept on driving and never stopped to talk to us. Took quite a few minutes for other cop cars to show up. One witness that would speak could only say it was the usual (black guy, baggy pants, white t-shirt).
ReplyDeleteThis got double-posted, so if you posted under the other title, please report here. Sorry. Bit of confusion.
ReplyDeleteSo difficult to keep my shootings/riots straight -- especially when they're at the same corner.
ReplyDeleteThis is really gettin pathetic. Are these shootings really happening this frequently or are people making this up? It's seems a little unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI do want to give a shout out about something positive I saw today at Leland/Malden this morning. A man was planting a garden on the SW corner of the intersection and had two of the children who live in that CHA building helping him. They really seemed to be having fun. To whomever that was, thank you for reaching out to the kids as well as doing something to make Sheridan Park even prettier.
ReplyDeleteYes, dacutestmama, I'm making this up because I have absolutely nothing better to do with my Monday afternoons but make up shootings.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the triple shooting in the alley a few weeks ago was just feet away from my head while I slept. Your post was not only ignorant, it was offensive.
From my balcony a few buildings south of Malden & Leland, I overhead two bike cops give the description, "kind of goofy looking," in addition to noting the baggy white t-shirt.
ReplyDeleteThe corner had seemed relatively quiet this summer compared to the past few years.
Seriously - why in the world would people make it up? Stop and THINK before you post dacutestmama. There was also another break in last night (early morning) at Beacon and Sunnyside. The person had numerous things stolen and was asleep while the robbers came into the apartment! This crime was not made up either.
ReplyDeleteIf you are on Facebook and a fan of Uptown Update, please watch this video posted there of the Malden/Leland gang banger suspects and if you live in the area please be vigilant and call 911 when you see them ... or anyone ... involved in suspicious behavior.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=146699326513&oid=76585657267
Hey shillsgang-
ReplyDeleteWas that break in on Thursday night/ Friday morning? Or was it in fact last night? My neighbor had a break in Thursday night/ Friday morning on the same block. Apparently they were home when it happened but had no idea.
As mentioned previously, the Miriam Apts (just north of this intersection) now has cameras covering this corner. Have they been contacted for footage that could help ID the shooter?
ReplyDeleteOh gee whiz people this was most likely harmless pranks much like the silly fisticuffs (hope I spelled that right) the last several weeks on Sheridan. These kids were just having a back to school party.
ReplyDeleteRelax this neighborhood is 80 percent better since the Alderman and her staff have been devoting the majority of their time working on solving the violence of the ward.
Too bad you witnesses could not have stopped the shooter and gotten an autograph from this "future star"
Lunchbox, I should have mentioned the one on Thursday as well. Yes, it was the same block. The one from Thursday night was a garden level unit. The one I posted about was, indeed, last night. Two burglaries on the same block within four days.
ReplyDeleteAs overheard on the air at 2:01 AM on Tuesday September 8th. "4611 N. Magnolia - Multiple Reports of Shots Fired" - Just another quiet night in Uptown.
ReplyDeletetoo much shootingss
ReplyDelete5:35 AM - "Man has broken into the building next to the Uptown Theater - Window is broken and the suspect is heading South from the JustTires to the bank at Lawrence and Broadway."
ReplyDeleteNo wonder I can't sleep - God - I really don't feel safe here. Does this go on every night?
dacutestmama is back!
ReplyDeleteShe works for Helen if not directly then indirectly. She also is posting this to keep the heat off her area of Magnolia and Sunnyside. I am beginning to think she doesn't like the added police presents her neighbors encourage. But her minimalistic approach is straight out of Helen's play book. Create victims out or the culprits.
I noticed Greg Harris has a meeting this morning regarding the violence, please write him with your concerns.
To all doubters: 5 shots were fired in the afternoon. I've lived right off this corner long enough to know the difference between the steady machine like pulse of a string of blackcats or a roman candle going off, and the jittery gait of a nervous kid firing at another. Gooseberry Park doesn't clear out on account of someone having too much fun.
ReplyDeleteCheck your head.
You know what I think is "pathetic" and "a little unbelievable?" The fact that someone would seriously suggest that people are making this stuff up.
ReplyDeletetjm: Your video is interesting. The man in the white tank top is someone I have seen in handcuffs and patted down at least three times on the corner of Leland and Malden from the period of August 2007 to May 2009.
ReplyDeleteOn one occasion I watched the police drive in(marked car, not a tac unit) pull up along side of him, two uniformed police get out, handcuff him, put him up against the car, pat him down, take something in his possession and then let him go. He wasn't resisting at all. It was as if he was expecting it.
The other two times he was taken into custody.
tjm, thanks for posting the link, good footage. That building has been a nightmare for years. I wish the police had a stronger presence, it certainly would deter a lot of the not-so-positive loitering!
ReplyDeleteAbout a month ago I was driving around the neighborhood with my realtor after seeing a places in uptown and at Sunnyside and Magnolia there were about 10 or 15 young males standing on the corner, all dressed in white shirts and baggy pants. One of them flipped us off as we were driving by. A nice welcome to the neighborhood I guess. I didn't think much of it at the time. This was back in July before I really knew about all the mess going on here, regular shootings, gang riots, etc. I'm from New Orleans, originally, so I'm very much used to these things, well not the gang riots, but the random shootings occurring in basically every neighborhood, good or bad.
ReplyDeleteOur building got tagged major league by the Latin Kings on Saturday night. We did call 311 and the graffitt busters.
ReplyDeleteAll we need now is Tony and Maria...
Yes, people are always saying how(crime) is part of life in the big city, but honestly, Uptown has it pretty bad compared to other areas...I think more people need to look out for the neighborhood, call the police! I have had to call the police at least once a month if not more....I know lots of neighbors who just ignore these issues, which to me only encourages undesirable behavior...My question to people who complain is "what did you do about it?"
ReplyDeleteThe only realistic alternative I can think of right now is to call 911 to break up a group on a street corner BEFORE it turns into something more. Most of the time, the incidents of shooting, etc. are preceded by large groups loitering on sidewalks, corners, etc. Now I know you can't do anything about people gathering on private property that they reside at (apartment steps, etc.), but there gotta be some law that makes it worthwhile to call 911 to break up a group on the public way. Is a group impeding the movement of pedestrians illegal? I thought I heard that CTA bus stops are "private property" (belonging to the CTA) so if a group is gathering on a bus stop, is that gathering on private property (particularly is none of them are waiting for a bus)? Bottom line, you have to find a way to break up these gathering on the street corners and sidewalks BEFORE the shootings and drive-bys have a chance to develop. You can't do anything about them gathering on the front steps of an apartment building if one of them lives there, but there has to be SOME loophole in the law to make it OK to call 911 to get a group to move along and subsequently reduce the liklihood of a shooting occuring.
ReplyDeletegingrsnap:
ReplyDeleteI will definitely start calling in suspicious behavior when i move to uptown in October. Now that I have been following UU I wish I had reported the suspicious behavior.
MOTS: Someone could go and try to scatter these groups of people. Good luck though.
ReplyDeleteThe Chicago anti-gang loitering law was overturned by the courts. For a contemporary mechanism I'd call the 23rd District office.
I moved here 4 years ago thinking that Uptown was the best place to be.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after being called an "Evil Condo Owner", harassed by alderbeasts own staff, solicited by the working ladies on Leland & Malden, after having my Jeep broken into, after dealing with the worst Condo association in the entire ward, I've decided to move.
I've sold my condo- I wish I could say I will miss Uptown. But I won't. I will miss my neighbors however.
Good luck to you- you'll need it.
I doubt you'll even post this remark as you usually do not post my remarks. Should you post this- Uptown has unlimited potential! I just do not have the resources to make that happen, but perhaps others here do and one day Uptown will become a better place to live.
The Chicago anti-gang loitering law was overturned by the courts. For a contemporary mechanism I'd call the 23rd District office.
ReplyDeleteI know about the anti-gang loitering low being struck down, which is why I was soliciting other reasons that can be used for breaking up a group on the street, reason that are legal. Creating a disturbance, disordly conduct, private property (the McDonald's parking lot?), etc. There has to be a way to make whatever laws are available work for you.
Firstly, i am sorry to hear about all of your problems in your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteSecond, i would like to clarify a few things. Man on the Street, YES it is illegal to block the flow of pedestrian traffic so please call and the police will respond and do one of the two things they can, tell them to leave or write them citations for it. Gingrsnap, your option will only bring the police there with the impression that someone IS smoking marijuana and may cause more trouble than it's worth. I am related to a few police officers and they would rather have the truth. If they BELIEVE that someone has marijuana they WILL do everything in order to find it. If they don't then they will realise that you are crying wolf and will remember it the next time. Also, with Schillers brothers friends taping this may cause the youngins to act in a more bold matter and escelate a situation further than it needs to go.
The fact of the matter is that the police are understaffed by a few THOUSAND and those that remain are not very happy with being treated like dirt under the new superintendant so it's up to US to help them remember that they still have a job worth doing and one that is appreciated. Just my 2¢
"There has to be a way to make whatever laws are available work for you."
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in knowing exactly which ones work for us!
Even when police do arrive at Malden and Leland, the gang members and loiterers simply [literally] leisurely walk around the block until the police are gone (usually within 10-15 minutes max) and then hang out/loiter in the same spot for the rest of the day/evening/night/early hours of the morning.
What we need is steady police presence in these locations to catch and arrest them when they engage in illegal activity (it is so easy for all of us residents to see the daily drug dealing without even trying--why is it so hard for the police to see it? maintain a presence there? make arrests?)
Until that happens, the gangs are happy to continue their street corner activity ...knowing that they only endure an occasional police car that stops ... pats them down (on even rarer occasions) ... and then moves along until the next series of 911 calls on the same individuals...
B6 - Most of us probably agree 100% that we don't have enough police on the streets..That said, I'm not really worried about whether they hear a white lie to get them over to check out the loitering thugs...Like alot of folks already said, we'd be thrilled if the cops showed up (at all) and did more than just shoo them away. Once you make it hard for them to "hangout" they may go somewhere else or stop and go away...As long as we have poorly managed public or section 8 housing with residents that do and say nothing for whatever reason, these "undesirables" will not go away.
ReplyDeleteAs we have seen with the local news coverage I believe VIDEO is key.
ReplyDeleteCould a few condo associations or block clubs get together and buy video cameras that could be hooked up to the internet? This seems like a rather low expense compared to the loss of property value these criminals are causing.
And again, has anyone been able to get any video from Miriam yesterday. Supposedly their video is high quality and it should give some coverage of this corner. (I know this might be a lost cause.)
I also heard the shots. I was on my balcony which faces the clearing on Malden, I could see people looking down the road toward the Leland/Malden intersection. Shortly after the shots I saw a police cruiser heading north on Malden. About 10 or 15 minutes after that I saw two police on bikes heading SOUTH on Malden and riding fairly slowly, not looking like they were in a hurry to get anywhere. Does anyone else have any details on how this ended up, did the shooter(s) just scatter?
ReplyDeleteNot sure if anyone else heard anything Saturday morning in this area, but I woke up to shots around 6a Saturday morning. There were three shots in a row; it sounded like they came roughly from the alley intersection between Beacon & Malden at Wilson. A couple minutes later I heard someone on her phone call sounding like she was talking to the police reporting it. I walked out to my balcony but couldn't see anything. Anyone else see/hear this one?
Please let me address this whole call the cops for "pot" thing. I have been here for four years. The building on Magnolia between Leland and Wilson they drink and smoke dope like no big deal. I was walking right by them a few years ago and cops on bikes were coming in my direction. I figure why say anything, the cops will ride through the smoke. Not only did they, they kept on riding. A few months ago I was walking west on Wilson (this is all during the day)and this homeless guy was walking past me smoking a joint. We all know you can smell this a mile away. Right behind him was a cop. The smoke was in his face and he didn't say a word. So please forgive me if I'm not big at calling the cops (I did it the first year here until I figured how it really works around here). We can't get these punks off the streets for shootings, things like pot and public urination is no big deal here no matter how hard we fight, and believe me I've been to all the CAPS meetings and have done my fair share to help with this mess. Excuse the rant here, but realize calling cops for pot just isn't going to work. I watched these gangbangers outside my window all weekend and knew something was going to go down. But calling the police because they were there just was not going to work. Besides, the cops cruise by and see them, they're not blind. Unfortunately, not much can be done until s__t hits the fan.
ReplyDeleteWell I disagree DI1106...I've done alot of "proactive" things over the years and let me tell you it does make a difference. I was just using the "pot" as a simple example! Doing nothing is not an option to me. We already have too many residents who think that way..and like you I've seen some pretty funny & crazy stuff over the years, things that make people think we're living in a war zone!
ReplyDeleteGingrsnap, maybe I misrepresented myself because of my anger (shots fired by you twice in three weeks will do that to a person). Believe me, I'm extremely involved in this neighborhood and certainly do not have a do nothing attitude. If you knew who I was and all the things I have attended and meetings I have had with police, you wouldn't say that. I did use to call the cops when people would smoke dope on my stoop (among other things). Didn't and doesn't work. I am just telling you from my own personal experience after four years, pick your battles with the streets and the cops carefully. We're all frustrated and are trying to find the answers.
ReplyDeleteGingr, You're not hearing what i'm saying. If they come with the intention of locking sombody up then that "white lie" could end up in them feeling lied to by the person on the corner and will escelate the situation. Not only is it a lie but you are also falsely accusing someone of a crime and it can come back on you. If your conscience is ok with that then fine but i would caution against it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the police doing something more, they can give a verbal warning called a gang dispersal and if the people are within sight or sound for the next 3 hours then the police can arrest them. It sucks but you can't just arrest somebody for being a menace. I really wish they could because half of my neighbors would be gone :-) but the fact of the matter is that no laws are in place anymore to combat these thugs and they KNOW it.
There're a lot of comments on here about what can be done to combat all of this loitering and other sundry problems in the neighborhood. Well, how about if the cops actually do their jobs? You know, show some backbone when they drive by, let the hoods know they are being watched because, well, they are being watched.
ReplyDeleteThe police department of Chicago is a REACTIVE group of folks. They are not PROACTIVE. If they see something overt, they react accordingly, if they see something they percieve as benign they keep rolling. Intelligence and ambition are not their strong points.
These "keepers of the peace" are quick to tell us they need our diligence and watchful eyes to help them fight crime in our neighborhoods. Well, we need theirs, too, and they are dropping that ball. Like the CTA motto states, if you see something, say something. Well, Mr. Copper, take some initiative and stop relying on reactive "solution." In the mean time I'll keep calling to alert you to the hookers and drug dealers hanging out on Leland. You know, the ones you really should already know about. And I'll keep hoping that one day the people you serve will come to mean something to you; that we'll mean more to you than the politics of Jodi Weiss.
Chuck complains that the police are not doing their job in one breath and then in another says that "intelligence and ambition are not their strong points". With an attitude like that is it any wonder they don't jump at chance to provide superior service to such an obviously intelligent and ambitious man such as Chuck? I'm not sure the typical unintelligent, unwashed, uneducated nethanderal Chicago Police Officer would be able to communicate with such an obviously gifted person such as Chuck. Hey Chuck, have you ever heard of the word "asshat"? You wear it well!
ReplyDeleteChuck...if you want to know why the cops aren't more aggressive, check out Ron Durham and his buddies who spend all their time, (since they obviously don't have jobs,) doing their best to catch cops even telling a gangbanger 'to stop being so naughty or you're gonna get a time out!' on camera so they can scream police brutality. Do some research into how Helen and her team do their best to thwart the police efforts in Uptown because 'they are protecting the poor!' Waaaaah!
ReplyDeleteNash, congrats on the sale. I moved almost a year ago and am very glad I did. For the first time in four years, I can sleep in peace, come home after dark and walk my dog without being afraid, and not puke over the thought of how much money I was spending to live in Gangland. I got sick and tired of witnessing shootings outside my bedroom window, having teens gut shot outside my building, another teen dead a block away, the CONSTANT drug deals, waking up to semi-automatic gunfire... which actually was FAR more effective than my alarm is. People screaming, whistling, yelling all night, etc. Uptown has the potential to be such a great place to live...but it won't happen with the likes of Shiller in charge of the 46th. Good luck to you Nash!
I've lived in uptown for a year and have just moved into a new place a month ago. I've been extremely put-off and downright frightened by all the recent activity; gunshots, riots, burglary. Yesterday, I was walking home from work, South on malden between wilson and sunnyside and noticed a guy standing outside of a garden until window pulling a bag that was clearly being passed to him. I noticed several people walking right by as well on their way home. Did anyone else see this? I did call 911... but with having to give attention to taking my dog out i didn't see if the cops made it there in time.
ReplyDeletedl1106 First of all I never said you were making it up. I said it's HAPPENING SO FREQUENTLY that it seems unbelievable. Never intended to offend you.
ReplyDeleteAnd to CHiPon da Shoulder! U make faulty accusations and have no support at all. Only because I disagree with what you say I must be a Helen lover. To be honest I can care less about Helen, Denise or anyone else in that office. As many of you have, I had a terrible experience in that office. So you can keep your Helen jokes and go lay down besides her tonight. Because truthfully your comments seem as if they are a cap off.
And get your facts straight I don't live in the Magnolia/Sunnyside area. But since we're throwing out false facts. Didn't I see you with the Black P Stones in the parking lot of Subway?!
I was walking my Grandma (88 years old) to do some shopping for things she wanted at Aldi. She wanted to walk, so I was all about going with her and helping her in being active! We live about 6 blocks from the Aldi so it was a bit of a hike, and I was rather disappointed in the conduct of young people along the way.
ReplyDeleteThey wouldn't move out of her way on the sidewalk (I would try to sort of steer her towards the right when people were coming towards her, but her vision isn't that great so she can't always see every little thing in front of her).. these kids (likely ignorant gang bangers / trouble makers) didn't give a you know what and stayed right where they were. YES, they were probably going to mow down my freaking GRANDMA if she didn't "respect their space".
When will these idiots learn that respect is earned???
I bet if we started firing back that would get the cops attention.
ReplyDelete(note sarcasm.. poor, unfortunate sarcasm..)