Hi,

Last night at approximately 8:10 p.m., outside the entrance to Starbucks on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, a drug transaction led to the shooting of three young males, including a 12-year-old boy.

The incident began when one of the individuals involved in the drug sale ran inside the Starbucks, followed by another person involved in the sale, who opened fired inside the Starbucks, shooting the individual he was chasing and two others. One of those who was shot later died. He was a 28-year-old resident of the South Side who was involved in the drug sale. The third person who was shot was a 24-year-old male. The 12-year-old and 24-year-old were being treated for their injuries as of Thursday night. Police are still searching for the shooter.

I am very disturbed to learn from police that drug dealing had been going on at Starbucks for more than a week. I will not tolerate businesses that do not work with the police and my office to maintain safety. We have had issues for years with illegal activity at this business, with very little response or help from Starbucks’ management to correct the problems.

I am taking immediate action, including:

Following up with the City of Chicago’s office of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), to correct the safety issues at Starbucks for the safety of residents in the ward;

Contacting Chicago Police Commander Mark Buslik to have an increase in police patrols for the area.



My office has reported this Starbucks location to BACP in the past, and the agency has conducted investigations and temporarily closed the business for previous problems.

If you have any information about this incident, please contact the Chicago Police Department’s Area North Violent Crimes detectives at 312-744-8261. Any resident who suspects or is concerned about illegal activity should call 911 and should attend a Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) meeting. The next CAPS meeting for that police beat--Beat 1914--is Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. at Clarendon Park, 4501 N. Clarendon.



Police, residents, businesses and my office must all work together to keep our community safe.



Sincerely,