Gunfire erupted on a North Austin block on Chicago's West Side Tuesday morning, striking three parked, unoccupied cars just steps from a neighborhood polling place. No one was hurt in the shooting, which happened as voters across Illinois headed to the polls for the midterm election.
Police said a man fired a gun from inside a sport-utility vehicle in the 5700 block of West Bloomingdale Avenue in North Austin, according to CBS Chicago. The gunfire left three unoccupied parked cars hit and damaged, but struck no people, the outlet reported.
The shooting occurred on the same block as the Galewood Park Field House, 5729 W. Bloomingdale Ave., which was serving Tuesday as an Election Day polling place. Despite the proximity, police did not indicate that the polling place had anything to do with the gunfire, the station's report notes.
How Police Are Classifying the Incident
The incident was classified as a reckless discharge, per the same account, and Grand Central Area detectives were investigating. Chicago polls remained open until 7 p.m. for the midterm election, with voting proceeding as officers worked the scene a short distance away.
The West Bloomingdale block has seen violence before. In August 2023, police said an 18-year-old allegedly fatally shot a 17-year-old girl in the same 5700 block, as reported by FOX 32 Chicago.
A Citywide Drop in Gun Violence
Tuesday's shooting comes against a backdrop of declining gun violence citywide. The University of Chicago Crime Lab reported that Chicago saw 168 fewer homicides in 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, a 30% reduction, according to the lab's year-end analysis. More than 85% of Chicago police districts recorded fewer gunshot victimizations in 2025 than the year before, the report found, with the seven community areas showing the steepest declines accounting for 35% of the citywide drop in gun violence.
Those citywide figures don't speak to this particular block or explain Tuesday's gunfire, but they underscore a broader trend playing out across the city even as isolated incidents like this one continue to occur near public gathering spots on a high-turnout election day.
