Crime & Safety

19-Year-Old Northwestern Student Shot Multiple Times In Rogers Park

She was not the intended target of Monday night's shooting, authorities said.

The Chicago Fire Department took a 19-year-old woman to the hospital after someone shot her at Willye B. White Park, 1610 W. Howard St.
The Chicago Fire Department took a 19-year-old woman to the hospital after someone shot her at Willye B. White Park, 1610 W. Howard St. (Jonah Meadows/Patch)

EVANSTON, IL — A Northwestern University student was shot multiple times Monday night while walking in through a park in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, authorities said.

The 19-year-old was taken to St. Francis Hospital with gunshot wounds to her chest and abdomen, according to a Chicago police spokesperson.

The shooting took place around 10:15 p.m. at Willye B. White Park, 1610 W. Howard St., a few blocks from the border between Chicago and Evanston.

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The Northwestern student was not the intended target of the shooting, nor was the person she was walking with, according to 49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden.

"Turning our park into a shooting gallery is completely unacceptable," Hadden said in a statement Tuesday, "and we will be working closely with violence prevention teams and the police to prevent it from happening again."

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A 19-year-old Northwestern University student was shot in the chest and abdomen Monday night after she was struck by a stray bullet at Willye B. White Park, 1610 W. Howard St., in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. (Google Maps)

Hadden said the young woman was in stable condition, and the alderwoman pledged additional patrols would be assigned to the area through the Memorial Day holiday.

Residents described hearing dozens of shots. And CWB Chicago reported officers said they discovered about a dozen shell casings in the park.

No further details — including the number of shooters or descriptions of any suspects — were available Tuesday from a Chicago police spokesperson.

So far in 2023, 13 people have been shot in Rogers Park, two fatally, according to data from the city. In all of last year, 28 people were shot, six fatally, in the community area.

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