Man charged with firing gun in Lincoln Park

A 27-year-old man has been charged after allegedly firing a gun from the rooftop of his Lincoln Park high-rise, drawing a SWAT team to the densely populated neighborhood.

Peter Vitale shot the gun nine times Sunday afternoon, then gave it to an unidentified woman who fired it several times, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said. Vitale fired the gun again after taking it back from the woman, according to a police report.

No one was injured.

Vitale, who lived in the building in the 2700 block of North Pine Grove, was ordered held on $150,000 bail on Wednesday.

A witness couldn’t clearly see the darkly clad Vitale. But police detectives identified him using the time stamp to the security key he used for access to the building and Facebook, prosecutors said.

Vitale got to the rooftop from the building’s gym, Scaduto said.

Several area residents called 911 as soon as they heard the shots.

Eight casings were found on the building’s rooftop, Scaduto said.

Vitale turned himself in on Tuesday with his lawyer, David Freidberg, by his side. He was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and reckless discharge of a firearm.

Vitale has a Firearm Owner’s Identification card and once owned a registered handgun, Freidberg told Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday. He works with data analytics for a company called SPINS, Freidberg said.

In a Facebook post Sunday night, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) said, “Police are reviewing video, and believe a male and female were testing a gun on a roof. Police share that this is an isolated incident, and no injuries have been reported.”

Katie Heflin, 22, who lives in the building, said: “I heard the shots and saw SWAT guys walking through my hallway a few minutes later with assault rifles. And police showed me a picture of a guy with a chin strap, facial hair, and asked me if I’d seen him before and I hadn’t.

“I thought maybe it was a terrorist attack,” she said. “I know that’s a little dramatic, but you know you see all these people do these things in the name of ISIS or whatever and you just never know.”

Contributing: Rummana Hussain and Mitch Dudek