On June 21, 2024, a tragic shooting incident occurred near 31st Street Beach in Chicago, Illinois, resulting in the deaths of two individuals, including 23-year-old Elijah James Dillon Bombin. Bombin, who was from Crown Point, Indiana, had gone to the beach to pick up his girlfriend. According to his brother, Albert Galvan, Bombin was on the phone with him when he began arguing with other people at the beach.
Galvan recounted hearing threats and then gunfire, describing the sudden and violent escalation of the situation: "I could hear it on the phone. They're talking stuff, saying, 'I'm going to shoot you,' this and that, threatening each other... Out of nowhere we hear was like a guy yell, 'Oh watch this,' and like 20 seconds later, all you hear in the phone is gunshots.".
The shooting erupted at approximately 3:20 a.m. in the parking lot near the 31st Street Beach boat ramp. Bombin was involved in an exchange of gunfire with several people. The scene was marked by multiple guns and dozens of shell casings found on the pavement. The other victim who died was identified as Bombin's girlfriend, the mother of their two young children, aged 1 and a few months old.
Police took three people into custody following the incident. This shooting was part of a larger pattern of violence in the area, coming after two women were shot, one fatally, near the beach just two nights earlier. The community and local authorities have expressed deep concern over the escalating violence, with Alderman Lamont Robinson advocating for earlier closing times at the beach and increased security measures to prevent such incidents.
The loss of Bombin and his girlfriend has had a profound impact on their family, particularly their young children who are now left without parents. Bombin's brother, Albert Galvan, reflected on the tragedy, emphasizing the senselessness of the violence and the significant life ahead that Bombin had been robbed of.
