Woman in Critical Condition After Early Morning Lincoln Park Shooting

CHICAGO, Illinois — A 39-year-old woman is in critical condition after being shot multiple times in the Lincoln Park neighborhood during an early morning street gathering.

According to Chicago Police Department records, officers responded to multiple calls reporting shots fired along Lincoln Avenue around 3 a.m., where witnesses described a street party with music playing from vehicles. At approximately 4 a.m., the woman reported hearing gunfire, feeling pain, and realizing she had been struck. Alderman Temu Knudsen confirmed the victim transported herself to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Police radio logs indicate dispatchers received reports of three to four shots fired near 645 West Bellevue, with no description of a shooter and approximately 20 people observed fleeing the area near Orchard and Belden avenues. Investigators later documented a trail of dried blood along the front and side of a local business, Soloway Coffee, though many morning patrons were initially unaware of the incident.

Neighbors described waking to find the area of Belden Avenue—from the alley to the main intersection—cordoned off with police tape. One resident noted the intersection regularly draws crowds late into the night on weekends. “It’s very scary because I’m up early with my almost two-year-old walking around here all the time,” one neighbor shared, expressing concern after learning the shooting occurred just blocks away.

In a separate but related incident early that same morning, Chicago Police reported that a 25-year-old man was approached by five unfamiliar individuals near the lakefront at Fullerton Avenue around 3:30 a.m. The group took his personal belongings and fired shots, though no injuries were reported in that encounter.

In response to the violence, Alderman Temu Knudsen’s office stated that Chicago Police are deploying additional patrols to monitor the Lincoln Park area. Police spokespersons urged anyone with information about either incident to contact authorities.

Chicago Police data indicates that, including these two early-morning incidents, there have been seven shootings reported this year in the Lincoln Park and lakefront areas. By comparison, those same neighborhoods recorded a total of 12 shootings throughout all of last year.