A man was shot and killed at The J. Parker, a rooftop lounge atop the Hotel Lincoln in Old Town. The shooting happened early Sunday morning at the North Side hotel’s rooftop lounge on Clark Street at about 1:21 a.m., according to police.
His identity as Allen Corday, 35, was confirmed by the Cook County Medical Examiner.
Murder in the Morning
Sunday at 1:21 a.m, a shooting was reported from the rooftop lounge of a hotel on the North Side, on the street known as Clark. According to police, the 35-year-old victim fought with another man in the bar’s lounge. The suspect then aimed for the victim’s chest and fired a shot. According to the police, he was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was subsequently declared dead.
Hayden Croucher, a guest at the hotel, claimed that an employee from the lounge had run into his room for safety shortly afterward. “I see a man dash in and out of the building before stopping to knock. To which I respond, “Ok, what the heck is going on?” That’s why I’m heading upstairs. Physically, he’s quite stolid. And there I was, wondering, “Man, what the heck is going on?” And he goes, “Someone just got shot up there. Allow me to come in and chill if I please. When Croucher said, “It sounded sketchy, but I let him in,” he meant it literally. ”
After I settled him down, he mentioned that he overheard an argument involving water bottles. Also, according to him, nobody was sure it was a gunshot at first. There was a sudden, audible snap. He ran when a manager or someone in authority yelled for everyone to leave.”
According to police scanner traffic heard throughout the night, the shooter fled the scene by running down the hotel’s stairs and out the main entrance. Police say a fight broke out between the shooter and the victim before the gun was pulled, but it’s unclear if the two were acquainted. The lounge at the Hotel Lincoln, which overlooks the city from its prime location across the street from Lincoln Park and the lakefront, is very popular among locals.
Some nearby residents have expressed concern in recent weeks about the Hotel Lincoln’s rooftop lounge and its potential expansion. At the end of last month, the hotel’s management and residents got together to talk about their plans to build a 1,700-square-foot addition to the rooftop, with the expectation that it will be finished by next summer.
The hotel’s general manager for the area, Dan White, issued a brief statement that read, “we are fully cooperating with law enforcement as they conduct their investigation”.
Identity of the Criminal not Revealed Yet
Despite the presence of probably numerous surveillance cameras within the hotel, police have not yet released any footage that could assist them in identifying and apprehending the perpetrator. The identity of the person shot to death is also unknown at this time. The criminal made off from the crime.
Eye witnesses of the incident describe the perpetrator as a black male, around 5’10” “who, at the time of the shooting, was dressed in a white and tan hoodie with cutoff sleeves, and a dark logo on the front, dark blue jeans, a red belt, white and red sneakers, and a large gold chain. Evidence technicians will examine the gold chain that was left at the scene.
No one else was hurt, and nobody has been taken into custody. Local law enforcement has been called in.