Two injured in ‘gang-related’ shooting in Prospect Heights

Two people suffered gunshot wounds in what police are calling a gang-related shooting late Saturday in Prospect Heights.

According to police, officers responded at 12:33 a.m. Sunday to a 911 call from a hotel on the 600 block of Milwaukee Avenue, where an employee reported hearing about 10 gunshots followed by person who had been shot running inside the lobby.

Police said they later determined that, earlier Saturday night, two known gang associates were in the area of the 500 to 800 block of Piper Lane in Prospect Heights drinking alcohol and shouting negative statements about a local gang.

As the negative comments began to spread in the area, police said, the two were approached by unknown gang members and told to leave the area or “there will be problems.”

The two left the area and went to a restaurant on the 500 block of Milwaukee Avenue, where they continued drinking beer in the parking lot, police said. That’s when a person dressed in dark clothing approached them and fired approximately eight shots from a handgun, according to police.

One victim was shot in the left forearm and the other hit in the stomach and forearm, police said. One victim was treated and released near the scene and the other was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover fully.

Two other people at the scene, both from out of state and described by police as innocent bystanders, escaped injury.

Prospect Heights police, with assistance from a Palatine police dog and several other police departments, searched the area but did not locate a suspected shooter, authorities said. The investigation continues, and video surveillance is being reviewed, according to police.