Chicago shooting: Stray bullet barley misses sleeping couple after 2 shot inside tow truck

Bullets entered a nearby home, frightening family

ByJessica D'Onofrio and Christian Piekos WLS logo
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Chicago police: Shooting leaves 2 wounded inside tow truck on Northwest Side
Ryan Johns and his wife were in a deep sleep when a bullet came through their bedroom wall, with his two young daughters asleep in the next room.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two people inside of a tow truck were shot on the Northwest Side Friday morning, with bullets entering a nearby home, Chicago police said.

Ryan Johns and his wife were in a deep sleep when a bullet came through their bedroom wall, with his two young daughters asleep in the next room.

"I was woken up to multiple shots," Johns said. "I screamed at my wife to get down. One came into the room within a foot of where her head was and the mattress."

Johns has at least two bullet holes in his home.

"She's a little obviously emotionally distraught and so am I. We could be talking about a completely different story," he said.

The unmistakable and chilling sound of gunfire is captured by a doorbell camera on the 3600-block of North Avondale Avenue just after 2 a.m.

"It's honestly upsetting and overwhelming because you really just don't expect that to happen on this street at all," neighbor Korina Brinkley said.

The video doesn't show the actual shooting, but police said a yellow tow truck riddled with bullet holes was the target.

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Two men inside, both 45, were injured and are in fair condition according to authorities.

Neighbors are disturbed by the violence.

"I mean you see everything going around Chicago...it's almost to the point you just don't feel safe," neighbor Patrick De Haan said.

"My wife and I are committed to the city and have no plans to leave, but it is something that gives you pause," said neighbor Peter Jurgeleit. "What happens outside the neighborhood doesn't always stay outside the neighborhood."

After the shooting, the tow truck traveled almost two miles away to the Logan Square neighborhood where police secured it with crime tape.

The motive behind the shooting remains unclear.

Johns said he and his wife are shaken up.

"She's a little obviously emotionally distraught and so am I," he said. "We could be talking about a completely different story."

Johns and his family were not hurt.

Meanwhile, police said they continue to investigate the drive by shooting involving the tow truck.

Authorities said the shooter was in a dark SUV.

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