Teens shot at in Wheeling , survive unhurt

Five teenagers walking on Elmhurst Road were shot at Tuesday evening in Wheeling in what police said was gang violence.

Police said a man driving a dark green or black Pontiac Bonneville with gold wheels rolled down the driver's-side window, flashed a gang sign at the teenagers and shot two or three times with a semi-automatic pistol as he was turning from eastbound Valley Stream Drive to southbound Elmhurst Road around 5:25 p.m.

Nobody was injured, police said.

Police said the first shot misfired, and the teens heard a click. A witness in another car heard two gunshots and saw the driver aim at the teens, reports said.

The shooter was last seen driving east on Dundee Road from Elmhurst Road, reports said.

"It's scary," said David Rowe, who lives in condominiums on the 800 block of Valley Stream and works as a clerk in a nearby convenience store. "This is such a quiet neighborhood."

Jim Sullivan also lives on the 800 block of Valley Stream and said he hopes police patrol the area now that a shooting has occurred nearby.

He said last summer, someone painted graffiti on the side of some buildings, prompting management to install floodlights on all the buildings.

"I am definitely going to be more observant from now on," Sullivan said.

This appears to be the first major reported gang incident since last April, when Guillermo Rocha was shot by Aaron Bundy as retribution for a rival gang stabbing. Bundy was found guilty in November.

Before that, in 2006, Chavario White, a 15-year-old with no gang affiliation, was shot in the head and died in what prosecutors said was a random gang shooting.

Wheeling has been working hard to curb gang violence, officials said Wednesday.

"I think we've come a long way from what has happened in the past," Trustee Dean Argiris said.

Interim Village President Pat Horcher said the police have had more presence in town to combat just this kind of violence.

"I'm really happy with the job police are doing on this," Horcher said. "They are very proactive when an incident like this takes place."