Block Club Chicago: After Lincoln Square Gym, Nearby Mosque Shot At, Muslim Chicagoans Fear ‘Targeted’ Attacks
“The four incidents might be possible hate crimes because of the nature of the buildings that were damaged,”
One of the windows at Redzovic Jiu-Jitsu, 4900 N Lincoln Ave., was damaged around 9 p.m. Sept. 7, 2024. Credit: Provided.
LINCOLN SQUARE — Members of Chicago’s Muslim community are asking police to investigate whether multiple incidents where someone damaged windows and doors at an Irving Park mosque and a Muslim-owned martial arts gym in Lincoln Square in the past three months were targeted attacks.
The most recent incident happened around 9 p.m. Saturday, when the front window was damaged at Redzovic Jiu-Jitsu, 4900 N. Lincoln Ave., a martial arts gym in Lincoln Square.
It was not immediately clear what caused the damage, but police said investigators discovered what appeared to be at least three bullet holes. The incident was first reported by the Sun-Times.
No one was injured, and detectives are still investigating, police said.
Gym owner Eddie Redzovic is a Muslim-American YouTube personality behind TheDeenShowTV, which attracts a large following. The channel has sometimes featured the Lincoln Square gym in its content. He wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Idriz Redzovic, Eddie Redzovic’s brother, said the gym’s security footage captured a dark car going by the building around the time the windows were damaged.
“Someone was driving around shooting,” Idriz Redzovic said.
Security footage from Redzovic Jiu-Jitsu, 4900 N. Lincoln Ave., shows a dark vehicle drive by the business before the windows were damaged. Business owners say it appears to be the same vehicle that drove by before the business was damaged in July. Credit: Provided.
This is the second time someone has vandalized the business in recent months, Idriz Redzovic and a gym employee said.
In the previous incident, around 9 p.m. July 8, someone appeared to shoot at the windows, police and Idriz Redzovic said. That is still under investigation, police said.
Footage from Saturday’s shooting appears to show the same dark vehicle pass by the gym as the July 8 incident, Idriz Redzovic said.
“I don’t understand. This is the second time we have camera footage of someone driving by and someone from the passenger side shoots at the gym. We made a police report and gave police footage back then,” Idriz Redzovic said.
“The crazy part is that a mosque in Irving Park was hit like a week earlier.”
Damage to windows at the Muslim Community Center, 4380 N. Elston Ave., that was reported to police Sept. 3, 2024. Credit: Provided.
The Muslim Community Center, 4380 N. Elston Ave., also had its windows damaged by apparent gunfire around 6 a.m. Sept. 3, according the Chicago branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and police.
The front doors and windows of the mosque were damaged, police said. No one was hurt, and detectives are investigating, police said.
Something had damaged the mosque’s windows Aug. 26, as well, but mosque leaders didn’t think to call police and report the damage until after the second incident, said CAIR spokeswoman Maggie Slavin.
“Only one report was filed because [the mosque] only made a big deal out of it the second time, because it was clear then that it was targeted,” she said.
A dark-colored vehicle was also seen driving by before the building was damaged last week, Slavin said.
CAIR has been in communication with the mosque and gym owners to compare the description of the vehicle in the separate incidents and provide information to police, Slavin said.
Eddie Redzovic’s YouTube channel bills itself as an “Islamic talk show” and his gym is a place where some members of Chicago’s Muslim community hang out, Slavin and Redzovic said.
The four incidents might be possible hate crimes because of the nature of the buildings that were damaged, Slavin said.
“It’s creepy as hell. And we can’t just walk away from this and say, ‘Well at least no one was hurt.’ Yes, it was only property that was damaged. But people live in that neighborhood, go to that mosque, go to that gym,” she said. “That’s why we’re pressuring CPD about this.”
Police did not answer questions about whether the property damage is related or is being investigated as potential hate crimes.
“The cops have to actually investigate this. They have to do something,” Idriz Redzovic said.