Paintball attacks may be on the rise in Chicago — again.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that several people were hit when paintballs fired from a dark SUV on West Division on Tuesday night (September 14). It happened on the 1800 and 2000 blocks. Another paintball shooting happened on Friday (September 10), ABC 7 reports. Although none of the victims were injured on Tuesday, one woman, 45, was struck in the face and transported to Stroger Hospital during the first incident. She was reportedly asleep on a North Wester Avenue bench at the time. Police haven’t arrested anyone in connection in connection with either paintball attack as of publication on Wednesday afternoon (September 15).
However, it’s not the first time the city has encountered a paintball shooting spree. In October of 2020, local eye doctors were warning Chicagoans of the potential vision damage that can stem from severe eye injuries sustained in a paintball shooting. By November, suspects were charged in connection with the surge in paintball shootings. “We’ve got young men driving around the city of Chicago with paintball guns,” Judge David Navarro said at the time, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. “Somebody just standing there, getting hit out of the blue, would be painful, shocking, aggravating — to say the least.”