CHICAGO — A man was shot and killed during a possible robbery attempt in Lakeview East overnight. He is the second person shot in the immediate area in two days.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the victim as William Hair, 35, of the 400 block of West Wrightwood in Lincoln Park.
In a brief media statement, Chicago police said he was “discovered on the sidewalk with a [gunshot wound] to his chest” in the 500 block of West Surf around 2:14 a.m. He succumbed to his injuries at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
However, officers at the scene said witnesses believed Hair was shot during a robbery attempt.
It happened across the street from the Willows Hotel, just east of Broadway. A friend of Hair’s was with him, and passersby reported that at least two offenders fled the scene in a red SUV. An officer who reviewed surveillance video said the car may have been a red or dark orange Kia Soul.
On Thursday, another man was shot in the 500 block of West Melrose, about a half mile north of Saturday’s murder.
In that case, a 35-year-old Indiana man told police he was sitting in his black Chevy Malibu when someone walked up and started shooting around 1:41 a.m., police said. The victim sped from the scene and flagged down a passing CPD patrol car for help at the intersection of Broadway and Cornelia.
Investigators said they found several rifle casings in the middle of Melrose Street, not far from where the man said he was renting a nightly apartment.
Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th) told his constituents in an email on Friday that “both the victim and perpetrator were not Chicago residents,” suggesting that police know the identity of Thursday’s gunman. No arrests have been announced.