A North Riverside police officer on patrol at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, confirmed that he heard the single gunshot reportedly fired at a 31-year-old Chicago man outside the food court entrance at around 6:25 p.m. on July 21.
The bullet did not strike the intended target or anyone else, according to police, who did not recover a shell casing or report any damage to the building. However, a police officer who was in his squad car about a block away near Urban Air reported hearing a loud bang coming from the direction of the food court entrance.
Shortly thereafter he received a call on his car radio that someone had flagged down another officer at the mall to report what sounded like a gunshot. Police also talked to an employee of T-Mobile, which is adjacent to the entrance, who said a man had run inside the store, claiming someone was shooting at him.
Police interviewed the alleged victim, and he told them he was standing outside the food court entrance when someone wearing a black bandanna over his face jumped out of a silver Volkswagen, pointed a handgun in his face and tried to rip a gold chain from his neck.
The victim turned and ran toward the food court entrance, hearing one shot while he ran away. Security camera footage was inconclusive, said police.
Stolen car recovered on I-290
A resident of the 8000 block of Edgewater Avenue, North Riverside, called police on July 22 at about 11:45 a.m. to report that he went outside to move his grandson’s vehicle, which was parked in the off-street parking lot in front of his apartment building, and observed that it had been stolen during the overnight hours.
Police ran a computer check on the vehicle’s license plate number and learned that it had been found abandoned on I-290 near First Avenue by the Illinois State Police at about 5:45 a.m.
Rollover crash at First and 31st
A man whose Hyundai Santa Fe rolled over after being struck by another vehicle in the intersection of First Avenue and 31st Street on July 22 at about 11:40 a.m. sustained only minor injuries, according to police.
According to the police report, the Hyundai was eastbound on 31st Street when a 2007 Honda Odyssey driven by a woman struck the Hyundai’s rear driver’s side while making a left turn, causing it to roll over onto its roof.
When police arrived on the scene the driver of Hyundai was out of the vehicle, hitting the driver’s side window with a hammer. He told police he was trying to retrieve his cellphone, which an officer later gave to his mother.
Paramedics transported the man to Loyola University Medical Center, though he reportedly told police he wasn’t injured. Police issued a citation to the driver of the Honda for failure to yield while turning left.
Not actually hit by car
A 44-year-old Berwyn woman who reportedly claimed she was struck by a car driven by a 54-year-old Dolton woman as she crossing Harlem Avenue on July 19 actually was never touched by the vehicle, according to the driver and an independent witness.
North Riverside police responded to the 1800 block of Harlem Avenue at about 10:50 a.m. for a possible accident. When they got there, the alleged victim told police she was crossing Harlem Avenue not knowing there was no crosswalk in the middle of the block and saw a Toyota station wagon driving at her. She said she put her hands up to avoid being hit and fell down, suffering leg pain.
However, both the driver and a witness who was walking in the area and saw the incident claimed otherwise. The driver said she slammed on her brakes to avoid the pedestrian in the middle of the street and did not strike her. The witness also told police the vehicle never struck the pedestrian.
Burglary
Riverside police responded to the 100 block of West Burlington Street on the afternoon of July 18 after a resident called to report that while he was on a 20-minute bike ride, someone ransacked his home and stole a jug of coins containing about $500.
The victim called police at about 2:40 p.m. after arriving home from his bike ride and finding his home to be a mess, with clothing strewn around the living room and basement floor. Nothing had been touched in any other bedrooms or bathrooms, including dresser drawers and closets.
According to police, the victim said he’d left the house unlocked while he was gone.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, July 18-25 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.
— Compiled by Bob Uphues
