Aridai Castaneda was just finishing up her shift at McDonald’s on the corner of Wells and Adams streets Friday afternoon when a crowd of teenagers began fighting inside, she said.
Fights inside the Loop restaurant weren’t unusual, she said, but it was the first time one ended in gunshots.
Outside, about a block away from the Quincy CTA Station, a 14-year-old boy was wounded in the leg, according to Chicago police.
An unknown gunman opened fire toward the teen, who was standing in the 100 block of South Wells Street around 4:20 p.m., police said. The teen was transported to Lurie Children’s Hospital in stable condition, police said.
Castaneda said the fighting inside the McDonald’s started at about 3:40 p.m. “We hit the panic button,” she recalled. “It was a lot, like a huge crowd of kids just fighting inside.”
The crowd moved outside but lingered nearby, she said. By 4:05 p.m., Castaneda had finished her shift and walked out to start heading back home when she passed by a group of teens lingering near the restaurant. Farther up Wells, she could see three people fighting.
“It was two against one,” she said. “One was on the ground, the other two were beating on him. One was stomping on him, the other was punching him. And then after that, that’s when I heard the gunshots.”
Castaneda turned and ran back inside the McDonald’s. About half an hour later, she remained at the restaurant where yellow police tape was strung across Wells, blocking off the crime scene. A small crowd of onlookers gathered at the northeast and northwest corners of Wells and Adams as officers surveyed the area. The restaurant’s glass-door entrance off Wells was shattered.
Fights are a regular occurrence at the restaurant, Castaneda said.
“They’re always doing it. It’s a daily thing,” she said. “They’re always here and we’re always calling the police because they’re so disrespectful.”
“Today was bad,” she added.
No one was in custody as of Friday evening as Belmont area detectives investigated, police said.
