Fox Lake police searching for alleged gang-member in shooting

Police are searching for a suspected gang member who shot a rival in the head during an altercation in downtown Fox Lake.

Bowen Rice, 23, of Rushmore Road, Fox Lake, fired a small-caliber hand gun and wounded a 40-year-old McHenry County man Sunday evening near the Shell Gas Station at Forest and Grand avenues, Police Chief Mike Behan said Wednesday.

The victim was taken by Flight for Life to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, but has since been released from the hospital, Behan said.

"The bullet pierced skin and exited," he said. "He was very lucky."

Behan said the victim and the offender were members of rival gangs that have been antagonizing each other in recent months.

He said both groups arrived at the same location at 5:30 p.m., where the altercation resulted in violence.

"The victim told officers that it was a gang-related issue," Behan said. "Let's be honest, gangs are becoming more prevalent everywhere, in every direction and nearly every town. But, our officers are doing a good job of keeping incidents to a minimum here. This is one of the first gang-related violence incidents in Fox Lake."

Rice, who remains at large, is charged with aggravated battery of a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said. If found guilty of both charges, he could spend up to 60 years behind bars, Behan said.

Behan said the shooting is under investigation as police work to piece together details of what happened. More charges could be filed against Rice and others.

"This was an isolated incident that started because of the aggravation between the two groups," he said. "It was not set up to be an altercation, but it ended that way."

The last shooting in Fox Lake was in 2006 when Brittney Rosentreter was shot in the head outside of her apartment complex by an unknown assailant in the middle of the night. The 25-year-old woman has since made a full recovery.