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Skokie man allegedly fires gun
A Skokie police officer gathers evidence at the crime scene after a man shot at another man at least seven times outside in front of 4810 W. Oakton, Thursday night. | |Allen Kaleta~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: July 22, 2012 6:28AM
A 20-year-old Skokie man, who last month was alleged to have threatened two people with a baseball bat after a traffic dispute, was charged last week for allegedly firing a round of shots in downtown Skokie.
No one was hurt, police said.
Alexander Soballe, 20, of 4913 Louise Ave., Apt. 2C., Skokie, was charged with four counts of felony aggravated discharge of a firearm. Each count refers to a shot the suspect allegedly fired.
The shots were fired at about 5 p.m. June 14 on the 4800 block of Oakton Street just outside of the Crafty Beaver store and near the new downtown CTA station.
Soballe allegedly fired multiple shots from a semi-automatic pistol into a vehicle that was traveling west on Oakton Street, Skokie police said.
According to police, witnesses said that a man, standing on the north sidewalk of Oakton, displayed a semi-automatic pistol and fired multiple times in the direction of a car heading west on Oakton in the curb lane.
The suspect then fled on foot from the scene, police said. He was apprehended by police in his home on the 4900 block of Louise Avenue a short distance away.
The targeted car stopped after the incident, police said.
Cmdr. Brian Baker said the incident involved a domestic dispute between a victim inside the vehicle and the suspect. He said there was an “on-going dispute” between the two, who each have a connection to a third person. The case is still under investigation.
Oakton Street traffic was temporarily rerouted as police searched the area, collected statements and secured physical evidence. Casings from the gunshots were taken into evidence, Baker said.
Traffic was backed up on both Skokie Boulevard and Oakton Street during the height of rush hour, and the delay of the Yellow Line station came after one of the largest crowds of the year at Wrigley Field was on its way home.
Baker emphasized that this was not a random shooting as the people involved had a relationship.
“The public should know that this was pretty rare and between two people,” he said.
Soballe has also been charged with two counts of misdemeanor aggravated assault, stemming from the previous incident on May 30, when he allegedly threatened two victims with a baseball bat after a traffic dispute.
A Cook County judge set bail at $250,000 for Soballe on Saturday, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office.
