Morton Grove police are working to identify two people who were involved in a car burglary and shooting on the 5700 block of Reba Street the morning of Jan. 7.
According to a Morton Grove police press release, two suspects broke into a homeowner’s work vehicle and stole $500 of tools at 6:02 a.m. The homeowner’s dog barked in response to the break-in, which alerted the homeowner to the break-in. As he stepped outside, the suspects fired four shots at the resident’s door, missing his head by a few inches.
Other burglaries of motor vehicles were reported between Dec. 24 and Jan. 3. Each of these crimes occurred north of Niles West High School, the farthest being 1.1 miles away. These cases were strictly burglaries with no shooting involved. No further details have been released by the Morton Grove Police Department.
News of this incident has spread among students and on social media.
“I heard about it on Instagram reels from the Morton Grove Police Department,” senior Peter Majcher said. “I feel like the car getting stolen doesn’t worry me, but the fact that they shot at him worries me, because people get their car stolen no matter what,” Majcher said.
Students also express their concern for the safety of the community, especially with the presence of firearms.
“I feel like any gun that gets fired–it’s dangerous,” junior Jack Tokarski said. “I feel like actions can be taken to help us as a community to be more safe, especially since it was so close to a high school, with a lot of kids,” Tokarski said.
Senior Drew Przekota plans to continue to keep his car locked as a precaution.
“I just lock my car and then make sure not to keep anything valuable in it,” Przekota said.
In Skokie, a gunshot related to a burglary of a motor vehicle was reported on Jan. 12. The situation mirrored that of the Morton Grove burglary and shooting; the homeowner interrupted four offenders breaking into his vehicles. The offender fired a single round at the homeowner before fleeing southbound on Keeler Avenue in a gray sedan.
Following this incident, the Skokie Police Department advises people through social media to not leave valuables in their vehicles and to not confront offenders in the event of an active robbery.
