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Police step up patrols, work with owner after second shooting

April 3, 2014 - Oak Park Police are stepping up patrols and working directly with the owner of an apartment building in the 400 block of north Austin Boulevard after the second shooting there in less than a week left two brothers with gunshot wounds.

A 22-year old man was shot in the leg through the door of his apartment just before midnight on March 27. Then last night, two brothers were shot as they parked their vehicle in the lot behind the building at about 9 p.m. None of the victims suffered life-threatening wounds.

While investigators have not determined if the two crimes are related, Police say they do not believe the shootings were random. However, Police have reached out to the owner of the 22-unit building to see what assistance they can provide to help protect tenants not connected to the incidents.

As police arrived on the scene of last night’s incident in response to a 9-1-1 call, they learned that a gunshot victim was at the West Suburban Hospital emergency room.

While officers secured the incident scene, investigators were dispatched to the hospital where they found two victims and quickly determined that they were connected to the reported shooting.

One victim, a 36-year-old Oak Park resident, was being treated for a gunshot wound to his shoulder and his brother, a 37-year-old former resident who gave an Ottawa address, had a grazing wound to his head. Neither was admitted for additional treatment.

The two victims said they were parking their vehicle in a lot behind an apartment building where the driver lived when an unknown man approached on foot and began firing a handgun at them.

The assailant then ran from the parking lot, entered the passenger side of a red minivan driven by a second unknown subject and fled the scene.

The victims then drove themselves to the hospital.

The assailant in last night’s incident was described as African American with a mustache, about 30 years old, five feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 175 pounds. He was wearing a black hoodie hiding his face and jeans.

In the March 27 incident, Police say the victim, who has a history of weapons violations, was shot as he responded to a knock on the door of the apartment where he lives with relatives.

The victim told police that as he looked through the door’s peephole and saw two men outside, one began demanding access and kicking the door before discharging three shots from a handgun into the door.

Police conducted an extensive canvas of the neighborhood, but could find no witnesses.

Both assailants in the March 27 incident were described as African American. One was described as being in his late 20s with a muscular build, wearing a baseball hat with a straight grey or blue brim. The other was believed to be wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about either incident is urged to call police at 708.386.3800 or email police@oak-park.us. Anonymous tips also can be made via telephone to 708.434.1636 or online - just click here.