The two men involved only required minor medical attention at the scene and didn't have to be hospitalized. But no arrests have been made and police are still looking for the two men responsible for pushing the man into the water.
According to police reports, the incident took place along a stretch of DuSable Harbor around 1:30 Sunday afternoon. A 58-year-old man was fishing with a friend of his when two men ran past, pushed him in and then ran away. Unable to swim, his friend jumped in after him. Neither man was seriously injured.
"There is a ten-foot drop from the top of the causeway here to the water so it was impossible to get out which is why we responded by boat as well," said Lt. Peter Piazza, CPD Marine and Helicopter Unit.
Gary Rivera comes out to fish at DuSable Harbor two to three times a week during this time of year. It's King salmon season and Rivera is one of the regulars. So when Sunday's news came out of a fisherman who had been pushed into the waters there, people started reaching out to each other.
"A lot of guys come down here for the salmon season, they all know each other and see each other. Everyone fishes together. We all get along for the most part, I mean there's no really fights or nothing down here. It's just weird circumstances that it happened," said Rivera.
The incident is similar to one three years ago, when another fisherman, 62-year-old Du Duon, drowned after being pushed into the water at Montrose Harbor.
"You're fishing on the edge here, you're in a precarious spot, so you have to be careful and then to have someone push you in, it makes you a little bit nervous. Thank God there was somebody else out there," said John Lazarich, a regular fisherman at DuSable.
Since no arrests have been made, police don't know what prompted the two individuals to push the fisherman in. But they believe it may have been a prank, though certainly not a very funny one.
"I hate to say it could be a prank. It's a very serious incident, especially this time of year with the water going down and persons in clothing being surprised from behind. I really don't know, I wish I could determine a motive. Some people have dark hearts," said Lt. Piazza.
