'If you see something, call 911': Mount Prospect police meet with residents after pair of shootings

The gym at Euclid Elementary School was packed Wednesday for a beat meeting hosted by Mount Prospect police to talk about a pair of recent shootings and strategies to combat gang violence in the Boxwood area.

The two shootings happened in the past two months in the area bounded roughly by Wheeling Road, Kensington Road and Euclid Avenue. Mount Prospect police Cmdr. Anthony Addante said the police want to work with residents "to try to stem these acts of violence."

"If you see something, call 911," officer Bobby John said. "There are so many calls that don't get called in, and we find out the next day, or somebody else calls the next day or a couple days later saying this happened."

The first shooting came Dec. 12 on the 1100 block of Boxwood Drive. Addante said two people were standing outside when "a vehicle approached them, possibly a van or Explorer or SUV-type vehicle, and shots were fired. Thankfully nobody was hit, but there was property damage. There were rounds that did end up in people's homes."

Addante said the drivers fled the area, and the vehicle has yet to be identified.

The second shooting came Jan. 3. A Mount Prospect resident with no gang affiliation was pulling into the neighborhood, Addante said, and was confronted by two occupants of a white Toyota who began to flash gang signs. Words were exchanged, and the resident drove away.

He later found himself driving behind the Toyota. A passenger in the Toyota stuck his arm out and began firing rounds at the driver, Addante said. The white Toyota and its drivers have yet to be identified, he said.

Officer William Wagner provided details about gangs in the community such as the Satan Disciples, whose distinctive clothing includes a yellow-and-black San Diego Padres hat and who use symbols like devil horns and a pitchfork in graffiti.

There's also the Maniac Latin Disciples, who wear Detroit Tigers hats with a "D" and whose symbols include a backward swastika and a heart with a devil's tail and horns.

John said Mount Prospect police work with neighboring villages' departments, including in Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove and Palatine, to identify gang members in all their communities. Wagner identified areas that he called nests of gang activity, such as Piper Lane in Prospect Heights and Cedar Run in Wheeling.

"Sometimes, rival gangs will go into other areas and tag what they have represented in that area to show that as a sign of disrespect," Wagner said.

John urged residents not only to communicate with police but to get cameras.

"If you have houses that are facing the main road, put one in your window," he said.

The police said they've added patrols in the area that include marked squad cars and uniformed officers. They also work with partners like the park district and Randhurst Village security to prevent gang members from creating areas where they can operate.

They also partner with social workers, school districts and community outreach groups to identify juveniles who could be lured into gang life and provide families with resources, they said.

The village board will be considering the purchase of license plate readers, and the police will convert the gang unit into a special response team with additional staffing designed to provide an immediate response to violent activity seven days a week, the police said. It will be led by Sgt. Jon Juhl, a decorated narcotics and gang officer with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience.

Boxwood resident Hector Escobar reiterated the officers' call to communicate.

"Please don't be scared. Call 911," said Escobar, who urged the community to stick together. "I don't see the problem being out of hand. It will get out of hand if we as a community don't do something about it. Talk to each other, especially with kids. Let's get more involved with our kids."

Escobar also asked neighbors to not "confuse our troubled kids with gangbangers. Let's identify the real bad people. Let's don't attack the innocent."

Addante said he has worked in the neighborhood for over two decades. "And the vast majority of people there are wonderful families," he said. "We're only talking about a very small percentage of people who are causing some issues in the neighborhood."