July 10--A 22-year-old man was shot in the back in a west suburban park late Thursday night, putting a stop to a youth baseball game and forcing police to clear dozens of people out of the area to investigate.
The shooting occurred just after 9 p.m. in J.C. Ehlert Park in Brookfield, according to police.
Police Chief Steven Stelter said an officer responding to a call of shots fired in the park found the victim injured from a gunshot wound near the skate board park. Police said the shooter and the victim were seen yelling at each other before the shooter opened fire, hitting the man in the back.
The victim was taken to Loyola University Hospital in Maywood in stable condition, according to police. People in the park at the time were asked to leave.
The shooter and an accomplice fled the area heading east toward Prairie Avenue, Stelter said, but neither could be located by responding officers. Brookfield Police detectives and the Cook County Sheriff's Department are investigating.
Teens from La Grange and Matteson were in the middle of a Babe Ruth League state playoff baseball game at the time of the shooting. The gunshots could be heard from the baseball diamond but no one in that area was injured. About 100 people were watching or participating in the game.
Stelter -- owing to the fact that shootings are rare in the suburban village -- said in a news release that both the victim and the attackers were known gang members who do not live in Brookfield, and that there is no ongoing danger to residents.
"I want to advise the community that this was not a random incident," Stelter said. "The Brookfield Police Department believes there was an intended target and the incident is over. This matter is being thoroughly investigated and I want to assure everyone the police department is out in full force, and the situation is under control as we work to investigate the case."
Stelter said anyone with information should contact the department at (708) 485-8131 or the anonymous tip line at (708) 485-1741.
Steve Metsch of the Daily Southtown contributed.
