Security Step-up: Lincoln Park High School Responds to Old Town Shooting

Lincoln Park High School officials are beefing up security in the wake of a nearby shooting that left one dead and another injured. 

The incident occurred around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday outside a convenience store in the 1300 block of North Sedgwick St. in Old Town, a Chicago Police News Affairs representative said. The scene is about eight blocks southeast of the school, which is located at 2001 North Orchard St.

A 31-year-old man, Tyshawn Blanton, was pronounced dead following the shooting Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said. A second 20-year-old man was seriously injured.

He was still receiving treatment at an area hospital on Thursday, according to police. A CBS report links the shooting to gang activity, but news affairs representatives would not confirm that. 

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Lincoln Park High School Principal Michael Boraz sent an e-mail to parents Wednesday in response to the violence. 

"The incident appears to have been an isolated one," he said. "However, because the shooting took place relatively close to our school, we are taking precautionary measures …"

Those measures include working in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department and CPS officials, he noted, to provide additional security during dismissal through the end of the week.

Early reports suggesting that spectators wouldn't be allowed at sporting events were deemed invalid. Boraz posted an update on the school's website Thursday afternoon to clarify those rumblings.

"We will allow spectators to attend our after school competitions this week as usual," he said. "LPHS students and family members of competitors may attend. We do not allow non LPHS students to attend games unless they are accompanied by an adult and are a family member of a competitor from the visiting team."

Boraz did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Thursday. 

"We are confident that these precautions will ensure the safety of our school community," he said, in the original e-mail.

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