Shooting reported in Palatine apartment complex parking lot

A shooting took place about 8 p.m. Thursday at a Palatine apartment complex, police and witnesses say.

The on-site manager of the Inverleith Apartments on the 500 block of North Quentin Road said he heard gunfire apparently aimed at an unfamiliar car he saw racing out of the complex.

Clarence Foster said police told him a drug sting had been attempted in the parking lot.

Foster said he was sitting on his balcony when he noticed the black, four-door Chevrolet Impala with tinted windows enter the parking lot between 7:30 and 8 p.m. He said it was a car he had not seen in the parking lot before.

Later, he said, he heard three gunshots and rushed back onto the balcony to see the car racing out of the lot. In its haste, it had knocked over a sign and struck a parked car.

Police were seen at another location in Palatine at the same time Thursday night: the Brentwood of Palatine condominium complex on the 1400 block of North Winslowe Drive. Some media reports cited witnesses saying a suspect was apprehended at the Winslowe Drive complex after he was shot earlier.

Sydney Goldberg, who lives in the Quentin Road complex, said she was trying to leave for her fitness class about 8:45 p.m. and couldn't get to her car because the parking lot was cordoned off with police tape.

Beverly Foster, Clarence's mother who also lives in the Quentin Road complex, said such a police presence was unusual for the complex. She said the biggest crimes at the complex have been occasional car burglaries.

Clarence Foster said he guessed their complex may have been chosen for a sting because there was only one way in and out of the parking lot. He said Palatine police every year ask him to sign a waiver allowing them to enter the parking lot; he said he presumed it was to search cars for vehicle sticker violations.

Police said Thursday night only that they were investigating.

• Daily Herald staff writer Sara Hooker contributed to this report