Teen held without bond in Prospect Heights shooting

An 18-year old Prospect Heights teen was being held without bond Saturday in the Cook County Jail on several charges related to a shooting Wednesday involving a family in the parking lot of a local shopping center in town. A vehicle was hit, but no one was injured.

Police responded about 8:30 p.m. to reports of shots fired at Palwaukee Plaza on the 600 block of Milwaukee Avenue. According to police, the unidentified victim was with his family, which included three young children, in the parking lot when they were accosted by Decy Ayala, who was known to the victim.

According to Stephanie Conboy, spokesperson for the department, the victim was waiting in his car for his wife who was shopping in a grocery store at the center.

The victim recognized Ayala as a gang member from the area and decided to drive away, she said. At that point, Ayala and other gang members began to chase the victim, with Ayala firing shots from a handgun while riding a bicycle toward the victim's vehicle, according to information provided by police.

Conboy said several shots were fired but did not know the number. The vehicle had a flat tire and several holes from bullet impacts and ammunition casings were recovered. No injuries were reported but it could have been a much different situation, Conboy said.

"It was relatively still busy over there," she said of the plaza. "Of course we're all thankful no one was injured. It was definitely the grace of God (that) somehow it turned out like it did."

Ayala, who had left the scene, was identified in a photo array, located later that evening and taken into custody, according to Conboy.

At the time, about 170 grams of suspected cannabis broken up into several clear plastic bags as well as numerous rounds of live ammunition were recovered, police said. Ayala was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and not having a firearm identification card, unlawful possession of a firearm by a gang member and manufacture/delivery of a cannabis.

He appeared in Cook County circuit court Saturday morning and was ordered held without bond.

Conboy said gang activity on the city's east side has dropped after years of sustained effort by police, schools and other groups and that Thursday's shooting was uncommon.