Recent shootings in Elgin have residents on edge

A teenage boy was shot in the back at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Elgin as he rode a bike along Channing Street with a friend.

Police said they don't know whether the shooting was gang-related. They don't know whether the boy was the intended target. And they haven't made any arrests.

But they do say residents are safe -- despite at least six shootings in Elgin in the past two months, two near schools, that have left two dead, four injured and many scared.

"Right now we're going through hopefully a short trend of disruption," police Lt. Cecil Smith said. "The police are aware of it. The citizens of the community should feel as safe as they normally do."

Police say they are still investigating exactly what happened Wednesday night.

The teenage victim, who was back in school Thursday, told police that he was riding home with his friend when they saw a large, dark-colored SUV and a light-colored car meet in an intersection, and then heard the occupants exchange several gunshots.

One of those shots hit the teenager in the back, and he and his friend ran behind a house on Channing Street until emergency personnel arrived, police said.

The shooting took place less than two hours after Police Chief Lisa Womack addressed the city council on Elgin's recent rash of gang violence.

Womack and her three deputy chiefs were out of the office during the day Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

At the Wednesday city council meeting, however, she said that police aren't minimizing the shootings and that they have taken steps, such as increasing patrols at gang "hot spots," in light of recent events.

Womack also attended a meeting Thursday evening to speak with the Elgin Youth Football League about a second shooting in the past week.

Around noon Saturday, police arrested two men after several shots were fired near Huff Elementary School and Drake Field, where 7- and 8-year-olds were playing football and cheerleading.

There were no reports of injuries after that shooting.

But roughly 200 people attended Thursday evening's meeting to express their concerns, praise and criticize the police response, and call for greater security measures at future events.

"This shooting was a terrible thing for children to have to see and hear," said Jim Williams, president of the youth football league. "We will do everything we can to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

Police said they will have an officer at all remaining games this season and will work out a long-term safety plan with the league.

"What occurred on Saturday was happenstance, folks," Womack told the frequently fiery crowd. "It was the wrong place at the wrong time. What we have are rival gang members that have a known dispute. It had nothing to do with the football games at the time."

Womack did say the two men arrested, and the victims, were there to watch family members play football.

"I would be absolutely furious if this happened at any event where my child was," she said. "We're going to handle the security in the short term and look at the long term."

But police said Drake Field and youth football isn't their only concern.

Police have already been increasing their presence throughout Elgin in response to several other shootings in the past two months.

In August, officials at Sheridan Elementary School locked the school down after several shots were fired at a nearby vehicle after class had let out for the day.

In July, Francisco Franco, 21, and Julian Mascote, 18, were killed and three other people injured in a gang-related shooting on North Street near College Avenue.

No arrests have been made in that case, police said.

There also was a report of shots fired in the same area two weeks before the killings.

"We're not the small village we were 20 years ago," Smith said. "Some of these things are bound to occur. Our job is to alert and inform our citizens that things are going on. Let them know the city is a safe place to be."

Elgin resident Jim Lewis, however, said it's time for neighbors to take action.

Lewis is vice president of the Summit Park Neighborhood Association, which organized a peace walk at 8 p.m. today beginning at Clara Howard Park.

"We just do not want to put up with this," Lewis said of the recent gang violence. "Our families don't want to have to put up with this."

Lewis said he was holding a garage sale about a block away when the shots rang out near Sheridan School -- and had to get out of the way as one of the vehicles involved sped past.

"The police responded very fast," Lewis said. "That's what we're trying to do. Get rid of gang violence. It will not be allowed. The neighborhood will not put up with it."

Elgin Mayor Ed Schock said he plans to be at tonight's peace walk.

"Very frustrated, very angry, I'm sure like most Elginites, that a few miscreants can make it difficult for our community and everybody in it," Schock said. "We've been making tremendous progress reducing crime. So when something like this happens, it's just so frustrating."

Council member Mike Powers echoed Schock's frustration.

"When this stuff happens it really is disconcerting on a lot of levels," Powers said. "I'm absolutely concerned. I'm raising a family in this town. It's unfortunately and ultimately unacceptable to have guys shooting up our town."