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Could Downtown Shootings Hurt Olympic Bid?

Police Try To Make Clear That City Can Handle Big Events

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The world's eyes are on Chicago as a finalist for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but there is concern that the recent shootings in the heart of the Loop might have harmed the city's bid.

As CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports, as many as four people were shot as the crowd poured out from the fireworks display in Grant Park Thursday night, and one was killed. Another person was shot in the Loop early Saturday morning.



 Tracking Summer Shootings In Chicago




The shooting Thursday night caused a panic that led to pandemonium on the streets downtown. The images of people running from violence and ducking behind police cars just blocks from the Taste of Chicago have some wondering whether it's safe to visit any major event in the city.

Police Supt. Jody Weis says his department will ensure events like the Taste are safe for all.

"I assure you we will do everything we can to keep this place safe for our visitors and our friends," Weis said. "The safety at the Taste is undisputed."

Weis also stressed that the shootings happened a mile away from the Taste, not on the park grounds, which "was our focus."

But police sources said there was an undeniable gang presence at the annual food fest Thursday. Many gang members openly flashed gang signs. The problem has grown worse in recent years, the source said.

Furthermore, this is the third time in the last four years that gunfire has erupted at or near the Taste.

Early Saturday morning, there was another shooting victim found downtown. He was lowered from the CTA 'L' platform at Randolph Street and Wabash Avenue, after being shot following a quarrel that began near the Chicago Cultural Center a block to the east.

Overnight, crime scene tape blocked off the Randolph Street stairway to the Cultural Center, a symbol of violence outside a building symbolic of Chicago's history and sophistication.

The 22-year-old male victim was listed in stable condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Read More.

A day earlier, 1 million people came to Grant Park from all over the city, suburbs, country and world to hear a dazzling display of fireworks light up the sky as the Grant Park Symphony played Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." Before that, Chicago's Olympic committee had aired a promotional video urging Chicagoans to support the city's Olympic bid.

But as the crowd flooded out of Grant Park afterward, the atmosphere rapidly switched from festivity to terror.

Gunshots rang out near Dearborn Street and Congress Parkway, taking the life of Courtney Thomas, 19, of the Near West Side, and injuring at least two other teenage boys, possibly three.

One of those boys was 15-year-old Deon Funches, who was grazed on the head by a bullet.

Funches said he was trying to find the Red Line with friends when he heard people shouting gang slogans, then a gunshot.

"Everybody ran," he said. "People were falling, getting stepped on and hiding behind chairs and bushes."

Thomas, an Olive-Harvey College student, was described as a role model by his brother.

"He was always an inspiration to somebody. I looked up to him,'' said Thomas' 18-year-old brother, Matthew Thomas.

Police took one male into custody Thursday night after an officer saw him with a gun and chased him about a block, sources said. The gun was recovered by police.

The following day, Weis said the police presence would be increased for a second fireworks show Friday night.

"We're going to deploy more officers," Weis said before the Friday fireworks. "We're going to have more in covert status that nobody will see them. We're going to pre-deploy some resources in areas where there's a possibility."

At times, the number of undercover officers actually outnumbered the uniformed officers patrolling the Taste. They were deployed near and among the crowd on the grounds of the Taste and on the downtown streets leading away from it, attempting to move with packs of people as they left downtown.

But will the image of terrified Taste patrons ducking behind police cars overshadow the glitzy, glamorous and proud ones being bushed by the Chicago Olympic Committee to garner support for the Olympic bid?

Weis said there is no reason it should.

"I assure you we will do everything we can to keep this place safe for our visitors and our friends," Weis said.

Police are investigating whether gang activity spurred the Thursday attacks. Weis pointed out that millions have attended the Taste without incident.

The fireworks show on Saturday night went off without any major problems.

CBS 2's Pamela Jones and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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