Man shot in busy shopping plaza parking lot in Uptown, police say

A 23-year-old man was shot in the chest Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a busy shopping plaza in Uptown.

Chicago police said the man was outside at about 9:15 a.m. on the 4800 block of North Broadway when an unknown vehicle stopped nearby and someone from within fired shots in his direction.

He was listed in critical condition Tuesday.

At the time of the shooting, James Hart said he was inside his dog daycare when he heard gunshots.

“I kind of ducked down behind the window, because I thought it was gunshots,” said Hart.

“When I came up here to the front, I saw people running, and thought ‘oh gosh, something did happen.'”

Hart and two employees locked the front door and quickly moved the nearly 40 dogs in their care to the back of the store where they waited for police.

“We’ve never had a problem here,” said Hart. “It’s just kind of odd for something like that to happen here in the parking lot.”

Yellow crime scene tape cordoned off a vehicle in the parking lot Tuesday afternoon. The driver’s side back window was shattered and at least five evidence markers were placed in front of the car.

Crime tape also blocked the entrance to Citibank and a nearby pediatric doctor’s office for hours.

Catherine Hennessy, a longtime resident, was trying to visit the bank when she was notified of the shooting.

“I took a day off from work,” said Hennessy. “When I get here, I entered this plaza, I see all the police tape, yellow tape.”

Not far from the crime scene, another shooting remains under investigation.

A 45-year-old man was shot and killed Friday afternoon while sitting in a parked vehicle outside a McDonald’s on West Wilson Avenue.

Hennessy says she’ll be more cautious in the wake of recent violence in her neighborhood.

“I just have to be very careful and maybe police can reinforce the safety for the citizens, that’s my hope.”