Crime & Safety
Alleged Skokie Shooter Attended 'Machine Gun Fest'
A picture taken of alleged Skokie shooter Alex Soballe during the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in Kentucky in 2009. Soballe was charged with four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm in June.
Alexander Soballe, the 20-year-old who allegedly fired eight shots at a vehicle during rush hour traffic near Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard, was charged with four counts of felony aggravated discharge of a firearm on Saturday.
The driver and passenger inside the vehicle escaped the incident without injury. Police said the shooting was a result of a prior domestic dispute between both parties. Officers located Soballe shortly after the incident in his home in the 4900 block of Louise Avenue, just a few blocks from the shooting.
In 2009, when Soballe was 17, he attended the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in West Point, Ky. The biannual event draws thousands of gun right activist and enthusiasts who get together to shoot automatic weapons at explosive barrels, vehicles and even dummies posed as humans (See YouTube video above or click previous link for pics). The next Machine Gun Shoot is set to start on Oct. 12 of this year.
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Someone known to Soballe confirmed his attendance at the event, but asked to have thier name withheld.
About two weeks ago, Soballe was charged with two counts of misdemeanor aggravated assault after he allegedly threatened two victims with a baseball bat stemming from a traffic dispute, police said.
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Angelo Maltese was outside Walgreen’s in downtown Skokie a few days after the shooting. He said he’s outraged at the “audacity” of the alleged shooter.
“You got a guy that’s pissed off shooting a gun outside a CTA stop and in the middle of rush hour,” Maltese said. “He didn’t give a s*** about anyone but himself. I see kids riding to the pool everyday here … My God, someone could have gotten killed.”
"When I go running, this is the exact sidewalk that I run on,” said one Skokie Patch reader on the alleged shooting. “I ran literally where the shots were fired today, on that sidewalk yesterday evening. I’m shocked, very glad and thankful I did not go running [the day of the shooting]. I will think twice about that area from now on.”
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