2 men hurt after shooting near Loyola University on Chicago's North Side
Two people were wounded overnight after a fight led to a shooting outside a hookah lounge just steps away from the Loyola University campus on the cusp of Edgewater and Rogers Park.
Chicago police say it happened around 2 a.m. Sunday outside Samah Hookah Lounge at 1219 W. Devon Ave. — between Magnolia Avenue and Broadway/Sheridan Road.
Two men were found shot. A 31-year-old was shot in the abdomen and taken to Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition. A 29-year-old was shot in the hip and torso and was also taken to Ascension St. Francis Hospital in fair condition.
The bullets not only hit the two victims, but also shattered the drive-side window and back windshield of a red Toyota Corolla.
It is a scene one neighbor said rarely happens in the area.
"It sounded like machine, or it sounded like a jackhammer. Just, 'Pop-pop, pop-pop-pop-pop, pop-pop-pop-pop!'" said Edgewater resident Ken Watnass. "Right away, recognized it was gunshots, and that was it. I knew. I turned on my scanner. Don't go outside yet. Turn on the scanner."
When he did so, Wanlass heard ominous communications on police radio traffic. An officer said to a dispatcher: "Can we get EMS over here? Someone's shot."
Police scanner traffic also indicates the shooting may have happened after a "large" fight broke out outside of the Samah Hookah Lounge.
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows people running from the direction of the hookah lounge. Then shortly after, police arrive.
Wanlass said he has heard of problems near the hookah lounge in the past.
"That's usually where it starts — usually a fight or something starts," he said. "You can hear it almost every Saturday night. Something spills out from there."
Police late Sunday were still looking for whoever is responsible for this shooting. Belmont Area detectives are investigating.
Meanwhile, CBS News Chicago has reached out to police and the Chicago Department of Buildings to see if there have been problems in the past with the hookah lounge. CBS News Chicago put in a Freedom of Information Act request with police to find out more about prior incidents.
As of late Sunday, CBS News Chicago was waiting to hear back from the city's buildings department.
