Homeowner shoots rooftop burglar in Lincoln Park

CHICAGO — A Lincoln Park resident shot and critically injured a burglar who tried to break into their home from the roof on Thursday night, Chicago police said. It’s at least the second time this week that would-be crime victims have shot suspected offenders on the North Side.

Police were initially called to the 2200 blocks of North Clybourn and Janssen to handle reports of a suspicious person on rooftops around 10:28 p.m. But no CPD units were assigned for nearly 20 minutes, even though one homeowner called 911 three times to report the situation, according to dispatch records.

Around 11 o’clock, just a couple of minutes after the call was finally assigned, 911 callers reported shots fired and a person shot on the block.

Cops arrived to find a woman shot on the roof of a home in the 2200 block of North Clybourn, according to a CPD media statement. A man who lives in the house, a concealed carry license holder, shot her to keep her from entering his residence, police said.

The woman received gunshot wounds to her chest and wrists. She’s at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition, according to police.

Officers at the scene said it appeared that she entered the property through a nearby construction site and used rope to get onto the roof. Cops found a bag containing hypodermic needles and possible heroin at the scene.

The burglar is the seventh person shot in Lincoln Park this year. Five of those victims were shot during a single incident near the Lincoln Park Zoo last month.

The neighborhood had four shooting victims in total in 2022. There were four shooting victims at this point in 2021; three as of July 4, 2020; and six at this point in 2019.

The 2019 victims were shot in just two incidents: a double shooting in the 100 block of West North Avenue and a quadruple shooting on the lakefront at Fullerton.

On Wednesday morning, a concealed carry holder shot a man who tried to rob him at gunpoint in West Ridge, according to CPD.

The victim, 26, and two male companions were outside a car in the 2600 block of West Devon when the robber walked up and announced a robbery at 3:33 a.m. But the concealed carry holder fired shots at the masked man, striking him in the chest and grazing his head, police said.

After being shot, the man ran into a nearby alley. Police found him in the 2600 block of West Rosemont and brought EMS to treat his injuries. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition. Officers said they found a handgun in a trash can near the injured man.