3 wounded — 1 critically — in Evanston shooting

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EVANSTON (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Three men wounded in a drive-by shooting Thursday afternoon in north suburban Evanston are expected to survive.

Three men in their late teens and early 20s were sitting in a red SUV about 3:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Custer Avenue when another vehicle stopped alongside them and someone in that vehicle opened fire, according to statements from the Evanston and Chicago police departments.

The SUV then drove through Howard Avenue and crashed into a concrete planter box in the 7500 block of North Damen in the Rogers Park neighborhood, police said.

One man was shot multiple times and was in critical condition at a hospital, but was expected to survive after undergoing surgery, Evanston police spokesman Ryan Glew said. Another man is believed to have been shot in the leg and the third suffered an unknown injury.

As of Friday morning, one of the men had been treated and released from the hospital, police said. One of the others remained in “critical, but stable, condition,” while the third was listed in serious condition.

Authorities said an Evanston street gang claimed credit for the shooting on social media and that the victims were members of a Chicago gang.

Detectives believe a rifle was used in the attack and a silver vehicle was seen speeding west after the shooting, Glew said. No one was immediately in custody.

In an email to constituents, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) said Chicago and Evanston police have stepped up patrols in the area and CPD Rogers Park District Cmdr. Roberto Nieves has requested the support of Gang Crime Unit officers.