The Oak Park Police Department is continuing its investigation into a shooting at a residence on the afternoon of Jan. 10 in the 700 block of South Harvey Avenue that left one man wounded and resulted in a brief lockdown of Longfellow Elementary School, about a block away.
Oak Park Police Chief Anthony Ambrose said in a telephone interview that police have developed leads in the case that resulted in a 20-year-old man being shot in the leg at the residence.
Ambrose could not divulge the nature of the leads but noted that the shooting happened on the front porch of the residence. He said it was not a drive-by shooting.
Longfellow Elementary School, 715 Highland Ave., was put in lockdown after the shooting for less than 15 minutes, Oak Park village spokesman David Powers said in an email the day of the shooting, which took place at about 12:30 p.m.
The shooting was described as a “targeted” event by police.
“It’s not random, so that tells you something right there,” Ambrose said, adding that police were not immediately at liberty to give details on the shooting because it is an ongoing investigation.
Ambrose said the shooting victim, who was transported to Loyola University Medical Center by the Oak Park Fire Department, has been released from the hospital.
He said detectives are conducting “numerous interviews” to find the shooter.
Armed robbery
Two people, described by police as black men in their late teens or early 20s, committed an armed robbery on Jan. 12 at 10:11 p.m. in the 500 block of South Cuyler. The two men displayed a handgun and demanded the victim’s keys and purse and then fled in a white four-door vehicle. They were described as 5-foot 8 inches tall, with medium build and wearing black clothing and black facemasks. The loss was an estimated $620.
An armed robbery took place in the 300 block of South Boulevard at 11 p.m. on Jan. 10. A black man between the ages of 18 and 25, standing 5-foot 8-inches to 5-foot 9-inches tall, wearing a dark coat and dark jeans and a beanie cap, approached the victim and displayed a silver and black semi-automatic handgun and stole the victim’s wallet from her purse. He then entered a white, newer model four-door sedan driven by another person and fled.
An armed robbery took place in the 600 block of South Ridgeland at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 7. The victim, a Bloomington resident, was approached by two black men wearing all black clothing and black ski masks and armed black semi-automatic handguns. They stole cash and an iPhone from the victim’s pocket. The loss was an estimated $500.
Residential burglary
A residence in the 300 block of North Taylor was burglarized sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. on Jan. 11. The burglar used a pry tool to the back door of the residence to gain entry and then stole a Kindle e-reader, Apple iPad Air and iPhone, Lenovo Yoga 2 laptop, a container with cash, an Xbox gaming console, and an orange carry on suitcase. The loss was an estimated $3,265.
A residence in the 100 block of South Cuyler was burglarized sometime between 4:40 and 5 p.m. on Jan. 10. The first burglar was described as a Hispanic male, about 30 years old, with a heavy build, clean shaven, wearing dark work clothes and carrying a flashlight. The second burglar was described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 30 and 40, with a heavy build and wearing dark work clothes. The two entered through the back door of the residence and stole $500 from the bedroom.
Theft
United States Postal Service packages were stolen from the common area of a building in the 100 block of West Washington sometime between 2:36 p.m. on Oct. 15 and 4 p.m. on Jan. 7. The packages contained a pair of Vince Camuto high-heel shoes, a Mondetta quilted jacket, BCBG Paris clutch purses, Gio coats, St. Thomas necklaces, a Noir necklace, North Face jackets, Milor silver earrings, Mondetta coats, a cellphone charger, and miscellaneous African clothing. The loss was an estimated $731.86.
Burglary from motor vehicle
A green 1999 Lexus was burglarized in the 100 block of South Elmwood sometime between 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 and 7:24 a.m. the next day. The burglar entered the vehicle through an unlocked door and stole a pair of Oakley sunglasses valued at $60.
A 2012 gray Honda Odyssey was burglarized in the 200 block of South Wesley sometime between 4 p.m. on Jan. 11 and 5 a.m. the next day. The burglar entered the vehicle through an unlocked door and stole a Vera Bradley coin purse worth an estimated $30.
Soliciting in the roadway arrest
A 30-year-old woman, of the 1800 block of South 9th Avenue in Maywood, was arrested and charged with soliciting in the roadway at the corner of North and Harlem at 3:43 p.m. on Jan. 9.
Robbery arrest
Timothy McNeil, 54, of the 1500 block of West Monroe in Chicago, was arrested on Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Randolph on an active Oak Park warrant for disorderly conduct. He also was charged robbery after being identified in a photographic lineup by the victim of a previously reported robbery.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports, Jan. 7-12, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
Compiled by Timothy Inklebarger
