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A party bus shooting at a Lincoln Park gas station that injured eight revelers prompted the local alderman to propose Thursday that all Chicago party buses be pulled over at 10 p.m.
“I’m working on a prescription right now,” Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said Thursday afternoon. “They should stop driving people at ten o’clock.”
In the latest attack, three cars pulled up in the 1600 block of North LaSalle Drive shortly before midnight and gunmen began shooting at the party bus group of people, Chicago police said.
It was the third mass shooting of the day and occurred just hours after two attacks on the West Side injured a total of 10 people, including a 14-year-old boy who died.
Police did not say whether the victims were on or off the bus and did not disclose any other details about the shooting. No one was in custody and the police did not release any description of the attackers.
Hopkins said the 10pm curfew made sense because “a lot of the problems we had on the party buses happened around midnight. This incident was like five minutes before midnight. It just seems like a recipe for disaster when you have 36 people, lots of alcohol, potentially narcotics too. And as the hours go by, the likelihood of problems increases. Perhaps it is time to limit the operating time of these buses. “
Hopkins acknowledged that city council has imposed countless crackdowns over the years aimed at keeping party bus rides from turning violent.
This includes requiring party buses that carry at least 15 people drinking on board or making multiple bar stops to install security cameras or hire more security personnel.
But, after Wednesday night’s shooting, Hopkins argued it was time for another crackdown.
Hopkins argued that previous crackdowns had had an impact, even during Wednesday night’s shooting.
“There was a security guard present. Obviously, he was unable to prevent this incident from happening. But arguably, he kept it from being any worse than it was because the two vehicles that stopped in this attack – one of them actually fled without shooting and the other who fired several shots did so very quickly. Did not stay. It was really a hit and run, ”Hopkins said.
“It turns out that the bus driver was also armed. He has a concealed carry permit. And he felt that part of his role was to provide security and prevent that sort of thing from happening. “
In the incident, a 24-year-old man was shot in the arm and a 26-year-old woman was shot in the leg, police said. Both were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital; the man was in fair condition and the woman was in serious condition.
A 23-year-old man with a groin injury was also taken to Northwestern in serious condition, police said. Two men, 42 and 52, both injured in the leg, were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in fair condition.
A 27-year-old man shot in the chest was later dropped off at Northwestern in critical condition, police said. A 29-year-old man with injured arm attended Rush University Medical Center and was then transferred to Stroger Hospital in fair condition.
A 26-year-old woman who was shot in the hand went to Jackson Park Hospital, where she was in good condition, police said.
Retired Business and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareno said she was not sure Chicago needed another crackdown on party buses. She noted that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s extensive pandemic relief program included heightened requirements for party bus companies.
This includes “doubling the requirement for a security guard and requiring the route to be available on the vehicle at all times.”
“Over the years Chicago has been very strong on the regulation of party buses and the requirements of these companies. … We believe that so far we have sufficient regulation, if not more, than most other cities, ”said Escareno.
Escareno said that when the problems persist, the problem “is usually not your licensed industry. They really were your rogue and unlicensed actors. It’s really more of a criminal problem. “
Escareno’s spokesperson later told The Sun-Times that the party bus involved in the Lincoln Park shooting was “licensed and insured” by the city’s department of business and consumer protection.
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