Lake Forest Shootout Triggered By Road Rage On Route 41: Police

LAKE FOREST, IL — Road rage led to an exchange of gunfire between two drivers Wednesday night in Lake Forest, police said. One man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, while the other motorist fled the scene.

Around 8 p.m., officers were dispatched to a call about a man lying in the road at the intersection of Route 41 and Route 60, according to police. They found a man bleeding from his leg and began applying first aid before Lake Forest Fire Department paramedics arrived and took the man to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators believe the shooting began when the drivers of a dark-colored SUV and a white Dodge Charger became upset at each other's driving, according to Lake Forest Police Department Deputy Chief Rob Copeland.

While stopped at the red light on southbound Route 41, they both got out of their cars and continued arguing in a "heated exchange of words that led to shots being fired by both parties."

Police said the Dodge was last seen headed west on Route 60. It had two Mexican flags in its rear window, which may have been damaged after being struck by one or more gunshots, according to Copeland.

Investigators have yet to identify the Charger's three occupants, who were described as men in their late 20s or early 30s.

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Officers found a handgun at the scene that belonged to the passenger in the SUV, along with three spent rounds, police said.

A Northbrook police dog called in to assist found other pieces of unspecified evidence at the scene, according to police.

No charges were pending in connection with the incident as of Thursday morning.

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Wednesday night's shooting was the first reported in Lake Forest in more than two and a half years, when a Navy dentist was fatally shot by her naturalist ex-boyfriend.

He turned the gun on himself shortly before being run over by a co-worker of the dentist in a downtown Lake Forest parking lot, authorities said.

That January 2018 homicide-suicide came a few months after the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old North Chicago resident at a Halloween party in Lake Forest. No charges have been filed in that case.