2 men shot in Loop as crowds gather for St. Patrick’s Day river-dyeing

Two men were shot Saturday morning in the Loop as crowds flocked downtown for the annual dyeing of the Chicago River before the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

The men were in the first block of North Dearborn Street when someone opened fire shortly before 9 a.m., Chicago police said.

A 58-year-old man was grazed in the arm and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Another man, 35, took himself to the same hospital with a leg wound, police said. Both were listed in good condition.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Police radio dispatches indicated the shooting happened near 180 N. Dearborn St., steps away from the Goodman Theatre — and about a block away from the riverfront, where St. Paddy’s revelers gathered all morning.

The circumstances of the shooting, which happened about an hour before the river-dyeing, were unclear.

Dearborn Street remained blocked to traffic and covered in evidence markers as crowds geared up for the parade, which was scheduled to step off at 12:30 p.m. from Balbo and Columbus drives.

No arrests were made.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times