City closes Bucktown nightclub after fatal shooting
CHICAGO (STMW) - City officials have closed a Bucktown nightclub after a fight inside spilled out onto the street early Sunday, leading to a shooting that left a 21-year-old woman dead and a man wounded.
Chicago Police, the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) approved the immediate and temporary closing of the Koncrete Nightclub in the 1600 block of North Elston, according to a statement the city issued Wednesday.
About 3:40 a.m. Sunday, a fight inside the club spilled onto the street and a 21-year-old woman was shot in the head and a 23-year-old man was shot in the leg, according to police.
The two victims, the suspected shooter and other passengers were walking to their car when the suspect began fighting with one of the passengers, pulled out a gun and fired shots. Police said the suspect fled the scene in another car.
Ieshea N. Abdullah, 21, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she later died, according to the medical examiner’s office. She lived in the 6400 block of South Vernon.
The man was also taken to Masonic, where his condition stabilized.
According to police, the club’s owner knew that everyone involved in the fight had been inside the club before going out to the street, but he didn’t report it to authorities and didn’t request emergency medical attention. He instead called 911 to deflect attention from the club, police said. Calls to the club to reach the owner were not answered Wednesday.
The club was closed under the public safety threat summary closure ordinance, which was passed by the City Council and can shut down bars with a history of police incidents and keep them closed for up to six months. According to police, the club has an “extensive history” of violent incidents.
The ordinance was passed partly as a response to a double fatal shooting on March 15 outside the former Dolphin nightclub, which was also in Bucktown in the 2200 block of North Ashland. The Dolphin was the first club shuttered under the ordinance.
“I will continue to work closely with our District Police and community groups to ensure that our neighborhoods are safe, safety protocols strong, as we enter this New Year,” Hopkins said in a statement.
The Koncrete Nightclub will be closed for six months or until it works with police and city officials to “develop an approved public safety plan to ensure it no longer threatens public welfare,” according to the city’s statement.