Chicago Chinatown residents push for karaoke bar to close after shooting kills woman, wounds 2

July 5, 2022

A gun fight in Chicago’s Chinatown left a woman dead and two others wounded.

Chicago police responded to the shooting on the 2200 block of South Wentworth Avenue at around 10:50 p.m. on Friday.

They found a 24-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to her torso. She was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

A 42-year-old woman was also shot in the hand at the scene. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in good condition.

The shooting allegedly erupted when a 38-year-old man and another man began exchanging gunfire. The 38-year-old man was reportedly struck in the buttocks. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

The other shooter fled the scene. Area One detectives are currently investigating and searching for the other man involved in the shooting.

Anna Shaw, an area resident, told Block Club that the shooting appeared to have escalated from an argument that stemmed from the No. 18 Karaoke Bar on 2201 South Wentworth Avenue.

The recent shootout prompted Shaw to create a petition demanding the city revoke the karaoke bar’s license.

“This bar has been a source of problems in the community probably since it opened, but in the last year or so, it has really gotten worse,” Shaw said. “We’ve had a lot of public indecency, noise, fights. Just a lot of problems. And it’s right in the heart of Chinatown.”

Grace Chan, the executive director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, is reportedly working with Shaw to spread the petition to Chinese-speaking neighbors.

“This is not the first time the bar has had issues,” Chan told Block Club. “There were other incidents, also, that were not related to this. So folks are just concerned about having a safe environment for both residents and visitors in general.”

Alderperson Byron Sigcho Lopez is also supporting the petition to shut down the bar, according to his spokesperson. A community meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss solutions to the neighborhood’s gun violence.

“Bar fights are ending in deadly shootings,” he reportedly wrote. “The flow of guns on our streets cannot be normalized. Mass shootings cannot be normalized. We’re living through a crisis.”

Featured Image via WGN-TV

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