In an development that is similar to a series of Lincoln Park beatings, a man was attacked in the Boystown area of Lakeview in the early morning hours of Aug. 3.
Independent sources ( including the victim's employer ) confirmed to Windy City Times that the victim worked at a Boystown bar. CBS2Chicago.com reported that the man was walking on Halsted near Buckingham at approximately 5 a.m. when he was attacked by four men.
A News Affairs police officer said that the assailants punched the victim in the face and body, and that they took his cell phone.
The pattern of the attack was similar to at least five recent attacks in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in which a group of individuals attacked men who were walking alone. However, a police spokesman told Windy City Times that no connection has been established between the Lakeview and Lincoln Park beatings.
Residents and business owners stated their opinions and concerns about the recent violent attacks as they packed the diner. However, controversy erupted as police did not allow members of the press with inside Nookie'sa development that most of the attendees disagreed with, according to ChicagoPride. Alderman Tom Tunney ( 44th Ward ) came outside to talk with the reporters, and said that police evidence was different in Lakeview than in Lincoln Park.
During the meeting, residents complained about a slow response time from police, leading Brendan Chrisman to say, "The cops are on Clark, not on Halsted," ChicagoPride reported.
Bennett Lawson, Tunney's director of outreach, told Windy City Times that "it's good that so many people are concerned." Also, he stressed that there is no evidence that the Lakeview attack was a hate crime: "As far as we know, it was a robbery."
Lawson added that there will be a Safe and Sound Seminar Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West, at 7 p.m. There will also be a community walk Friday night at 2 a.m.; participants will leave from the 7-11 parking lot at Halsted and Roscoe.
The Chicago Tribune reported Aug. 11 that a man has been arrested after someone identified the alleged assailant from a sketch. In addition, Evanston police arrested two men and a woman Aug. 11. The three are suspected in two robberies and beatings Aug. 10 in the Roscoe Village and Lakeview neighborhoods.