Police are investigating reports of a break-in early Thursday morning at the Gage Park field house, where hundreds of migrants have been housed since early July.
A 37-year-old woman told Chicago police she saw a male enter the facility, at 2411 W. 55th St., about 2:20 a.m., according to Chicago police.
The woman “saw the possible outline of a firearm” on the man and said he was pointing his finger at individuals inside, police said. He then left on foot.
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) said the male entered the women’s dormitory but did not make direct contact with any of the residents.
Since the incident, Lopez said he has been in communication with the mayor’s office and officers from the Chicago Lawn police district to determine how the breach happened and to ensure it does not happen again. He said he planned to visit the field house later Thursday.
“I have conveyed to Mayor Brandon Johnson that the safety of the migrant asylum-seekers and the surrounding community must be our utmost priority,” Lopez said in a statement. “I have asked our partners to hold shelter management and private security agencies to drill this philosophy deep into their daily mission. A breach of this caliber could have ended in a much worse scenario. Thankfully, that is not the case today.”
The Gage Park field house has served as a migrant respite center since July.
In June, Lopez said he volunteered at the local field house after he was assured security and health needs would be met by the city.
The site was initially set up to house about 300 single men, but about a month ago expanded to include women.
There are almost 400 people housed at the facility, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
There are currently 20 shelters throughout the city, housing over 9,300 people. More than 2,300 people are waiting at police stations and airports for space in city shelters to open up.
The city has received over 15,000 people since the busing began in August 2022, and the pace of arrivals is accelerating. This past weekend, 12 buses arrived, the most in any two-day period — until Tuesday and Wednesday, when 14 did. Five more buses were expected to arrive on Thursday.
Contributing: Michael Loria, a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.
