River North crime concerns: Man shot in face drive-by on busy street

CHICAGO (CBS) — There are new crime concerns in Chicago’s River North neighborhood after a man was wounded in a drive-by shooting on busy LaSalle Streeet. It happened Saturday night as many people were either leaving restaurants or just walking downtown. 

That man was recovering Sunday after he was shot in the cheek. 

The River North Residents Association says what Near North Side residents are experiencing has been commonplace in many other Chicago communities. 

Police say the 38-year-old man was driving southbound on LaSalle when a black Jeep approached and a male suspect fired four shots into the victim’s vehicle. Video shows the front windshield shot out. 

Police say the victim was shot in the right cheek and is in good condition. 

River North is no stranger to violence. Two weeks ago, a 36-year-old man died after being stabbed in River North and driving a few blocks until his car stopped on the Magnificent Mile. The chain of events ended in the middle of the street on Michigan Avenue near Ontario Street and the Burberry store – but it began several blocks to the west at Ohio and Dearborn streets. And on Aug. 13, a 19-year-old woman was shot in the back while sitting inside a minivan in River North.

Saturday night’s shooting happened in the middle of a busy street, between Illinois and Hubbard.

CBS 2 reached out to the River North Residents Association about the increase in violence. They say, “The casual violence of these incidents is terrible, but what’s even worse is their frequency. This kind of behavior can’t be allowed to become normalized.”

Long warm holiday weekends often bring a spike in crime. Last year, 59 were wounded and six were killed in Chicago on Labor Day Weekend. So far this weekend, 34 people were hurt and six were killed.

As for Saturday night’s shooting, no one is in custody. It is unclear if the shooting was intentional or random.