Gunfire Erupts On Joliet's Dangerous Fairmont Avenue

JOLIET, IL - Nobody was injured but one car and two townhouses were hit by bullets on Tuesday afternoon in a terribly dangerous part of Joliet's east side. The gunfire erupted on Fairmont Avenue which is in Joliet's Fairview Housing Development. Bob Hernandez, a member of the Joliet Housing Authority and local community activist, toured the neighborhood Tuesday night, meeting with people who saw the shooting unfold as children were returning home from school shortly after 2 p.m.

"I came out to walk and talk with residents tonight," Hernandez posted on Facebook. "Our Joliet Police are securing the area.We have a great Police Department."

Hernandez said that about 15 bullets were fired around 2:05 p.m. He said that the Fairview residents he spoke with on Tuesday night told him that the gunman does not live at the housing complex. They thought the shooter fled the area immediately after firing the shots. One of the persons from Fairview believed the gun was a semi-automatic weapon.

"The residents do not feel safe, and they should not feel safe because that is one of the most dangerous areas of the city if not the most dangerous area of the city," Hernandez told Joliet Patch on Tuesday night. "And the Joliet Police Department are out there all the time, but incidents occur when they leave the area."

Hernandez said there have been two or three other incidents of shots fired at Fairview in the past month.

Later this week, Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and others plan to be touring the Fairview Housing complex to send a message to everyone that the violence needs to stop, Hernandez said.

Image of Fairview Housing complex via Bob Hernandez with permission to use