North Avenue Beach reopens after fight and shots fired; teen charged, police say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- North Avenue Beach reopened several hours after a fight that resulted in shots fired, Chicago police said Friday.

About 80 to 100 teenagers were gathered at the beach around 1:30 p.m. Friday when the fight broke out. At some point during the fight, someone pulled out a gun and fired shots.

No one was struck and no injuries were reported, police said.

The group dispersed as police responded. One juvenile was taken into custody, Chicago police said. The 15-year-old boy was charged with one count of aggravated assault discharge of firearm, and one count of criminal damage to property worth $500 to $10,000, both felonies.

Police were not able to locate the gun, which was apparently discarded somewhere.

At some point during the incident, a Chicago Park District truck was struck by gunfire. Broken windows were visible on the vehicle, and a worker said it was from the shots fired.

"We came by, and then we saw the truck here with obviously what appears to be shots coming through the windows, and we're like this is creepy," said John Muldoon, walking near the beach.

"There was just a lot of police. I saw three individuals at least that were handcuffed and didn't really see exactly what happened or what caused it, but it looked like there was some type of dispute, obviously," said Dan Short, walking near the beach.

The shooting brought out a swarm of police from all around, and ABC7 has obtained video showing a police SUV speeding through the south end of Lincoln Park, where kids were gathered.

The nearby Latin school said in an email to parents that students were gathered for is annual Olympics Day game when the police SUV sped through the park. No kids were injured, but the incident was alarming.

A CPD spokesman said police are looking into the incident.

While police have not yet commented on the beach reopening, shortly before 5:30 p.m. Chopper 7HD saw lifeguards on duty and beachgoers on the sand and the water again.

All Chicago beaches officially opened for the season at 11 a.m. Friday and will remain open until 7 p.m. every day until Labor Day.

Police said bags were being searched at different checkpoints along the lakefront.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.