South Elgin police are requesting the public’s help in a gunfire incident near an elementary school Monday evening.
Deputy Police Chief Brett Czechowski said officers responded to a 911 call about 5:45 p.m. about a group of people reportedly armed with guns near Fox Meadow Elementary School, 1275 Jenna Drive, not far from North McLean Boulevard and Bowes Road.
A few minutes later, calls came in about shots fired but the group had fled before police arrived at the scene, Czechowksi said.
No injuries were reported, but police believe bullets may have struck a nearby home.
While the incident occurred outside of school hours and there were no reports of students or staff being at the school at the time, South Elgin police were doing extra patrols around the school Tuesday as a precaution, Czechowski said.
Police don’t know how many people were involved in the incident and witnesses were unable to give a description of anyone in the group, he said. It’s not known if it might have been gang-related, he said.
Overall, gang activity is not as overt as it used to be years ago, Czechowski said. There has been some graffiti left around the village, but “the vast majority of times tagging is not gang-related,” he said.
Gunfire incidents aren’t common in South Elgin, he added. “(In many cases) what initially is reported as shots fired is later determined to be fireworks. (A case) of actual shots fired for South Elgin is rare,” Czechowski said.
Investigators are asking that anyone who has information about the incident or residents with Ring-style residential cameras who have video footage that might help contact the police at 847-741-2151.
“(Video images have) been helpful in the past in different incidents,” the deputy chief said. “We’re hopeful somebody can share whatever they have with us.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
