Forest Park police, responded to calls of gunshots on Saturday night around 10:45 p.m., blocked off Desplaines Avenue, set up several officers in a perimeter with long rifles, and started knocking on doors.
Police entered the apartment building on Desplaines where witnesses said a man was observed standing on the balcony firing a handgun. Two .45 caliber shells were recovered from the parking lot outside the apartment building. Witnesses reported hearing six shots.
In one apartment, according to reports, a man answered the door after asking for time to “put on some clothes.” When asked about the shots, he said, “Oh yeah, I heard them too.” A woman in the apartment was reportedly heard screaming, “No, he didn’t do nothing!”
Police say they asked the pair to exit the apartment and police then recovered a .45 caliber black Springfield Armory XD semi-automatic handgun sticking out of a jacket pocket hanging on the coat rack on the door. Police also recovered a spent .45 caliber gun casing on top of the bed and another underneath the bedding. Police also found a second .40 caliber Ruger semi-automatic pistol with nine live rounds on the kitchen counter in a case.
The 25-year-old man was arrested. Police took gunshot residue samples from him and the girl in the apartment. She denied knowledge of the shooting and initially gave police a false name and birth date, but was correctly identified as a 17-year-old minor and placed into protective custody.
No one was reported injured and police do not think there was an intended victim in the shooting.
No charges have been filed, but police sent the gun residue test to the Illinois State Police laboratory for confirmation. The man will likely be charged with reckless discharge of a firearm.
