According to the Tribune, the incident was part of a street-gang fight from which the wounded man had sought refuge inside the library. The branch was closed for the remainder of the day.
Library officials are “cooperating fully with the Chicago Police Department,” CPL spokesperson Margaret Killackey told American Libraries. “We do have uniformed security guards in every library, and there was one on staff at the Marshall Square branch at the time.” Emphasizing that “it’s certainly a very rare case for us to have a violent crime in the library,” Killackey added, “We’re certainly pleased that no staff was hurt, that no other patrons were hurt.” As to stepping up security, she noted, “We’re constantly evaluating with the police commanders to see what our needs are and our situation is.”
Posted November 17, 2006.