(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – No injuries were reported Tuesday after police say two groups of people fired several rounds at each other and bullets pierced three businesses along a major street dividing Joliet and Crest Hill.
Joliet Police said officers found more than 40 shell casings as they responded to a Crest Hill strip mall shortly after 1 p.m. They said a shootout between two groups across Theodore Street left two cars and at least three businesses with bullet holes and broken glass.
Among the properties damaged was Merichka’s, a longtime restaurant famous for its butter-drenched poorboy sandwiches. Bullets pierced glass and signage, prompting owners to close for the rest of the day while police investigated.
“We will be closed the rest of the night due to a shooting investigation that happened outside our restaurant. No one was hit but obviously people are shaken up,” Merichka’s said on Facebook.
Merichka's manager Joe Zdralevich told CBS-2 no one was hurt but lots of people inside were terrified.
"I walked out front and saw the windows were shot out," Zdralevich recalled. "One of our hosts, she was really kind of trembling, very scared...It was chaos, those first five, ten minutes, again I was just trying to assess what was going on [be]cause people are shaking, screaming."
Crest Hill police say they found a suspect hiding in the neighborhood and took him in for questioning. They are looking for a handgun they believe one of the suspects dropped.
Joliet Police said three suspects left in a light-colored SUV. They’re asking anyone with video or other information about the shooting to reach out to at (815) 724-3020.
Also struck by gunfire were Envisions Salon and Ascendant Iron and two unoccupied vehicles, said Joliet police, who worked with law enforcement colleagues in Crest Hill.
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