The man was attacked by multiple offenders in the 800 block of North Lake Shore Drive, police said. | Google

A 21-year-old suburban man was battered and critically injured as he walked with his girlfriend on North Lake Shore Drive near Streeterville on Saturday evening, police said. Police are conducting a “formal review” of the incident to determine, among other things, why no police report was taken until yesterday evening.

News of the crime, which involved multiple offenders, was first reported this morning on Second City Cop (SCC).

According to a police spokesman, the victim was walking on the 800 block of North Lake Shore Drive around 5:30 p.m. Saturday when a group of male and female offenders approached and struck him in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement. While the victim was lying on the ground, one of the offenders poured an “unknown liquid” on him and the group then fled the scene, the spokesman said.

The victim was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to police. No offenders are in custody and the police department did not offer any description of the suspects.

The beating took place about three hours before large groups of teens flooded the streets around the historic Water Tower on Saturday night, injuring four and leading to two arrests. One of the arrestees, a 16-year-old, was charged with throwing an unknown substance into the face of a police officer who was working to quell the street disturbances.

A witness to that arrest told CWBChicago that she believed “300 to 400” people were involved in the melee when she saw near State and Chicago. Separately, a Chicago Police Department Transit Unit estimated that the same number of participants had departed the area via the Red Line Station at Chicago. The incident began after Water Tower Place security reported a crowd of about 50 teenagers fighting outside of mall at 835 North Michigan Avenue.

According to media reports, mayhem erupted when the crowd from Water Tower Place joined with another group of teens that arrived at the Chicago train station.

“We know the Red Line group at some point merged with another group that was at Water Tower Place earlier,” Alderman Brian Hopkins told us today. Hopkins’ ward includes much of the Magnificent Mile, including the Water Tower area.

This afternoon Hopkins said that a link between the Lake Shore Drive incident and the later mob disturbance “is possible but not confirmed.”

Alderman Speaks

Alderman Brian Hopkins | Facebook

News of the Lake Shore Drive case came early Thursday in a comment Hopkins submitted to SCC. Speaking about media interviews and an email summary that he had issued since Saturday’s mob scene, Hopkins wrote,

I was wrong about one thing, however. I said there were no serious injuries associated with the mayhem downtown on 5 May. I learned earlier today that a 21 yr old victim, visiting downtown from the suburbs with his girlfriend, was attacked without provocation by 4 unknown offenders. He remains in ICU, critical condition with a fractured skull.

His distraught parents contacted my office today, because their repeated 911 calls failed to generate an investigatory response of any kind…

Hopkins today confirmed that he wrote the message posted at SCC.

A CPD spokesman tonight confirmed that a police report about the Lake Shore Drive attack was not filed until Wednesday afternoon or evening. “We are conducting a formal review of the incident,” the spokesman said.

Raising further concern about the delay in filing a report is that hospitals are required to notify police when patients seek treatment for injuries suffered in criminal acts, a police source said.

Hopkins revealed on Tuesday that police “warning systems” about mob incidents had “failed” on Saturday and said an “internal review” of the failure was underway.

Please support our efforts to uncover original news in Chicago. Subscribe or donate an amount of your choosing today. Thank you!