CHICAGO — A Cook County judge has sentenced a man to 43 years in prison for carrying out a mass shooting that left two people dead and seven injured near the Magnificent Mile in May 2022. Jaylun Sanders, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of murder on November 18 and received his sentence today from Judge Adrienne Davis.
Sanders, who was on bond for a felony gun charge at the time of the shootings, must serve 100% of his prison sentence.
Around 9:15 p.m. on May 19, 2022, Sanders was part of a clash between two groups near the Chicago Red Line station, 801 North State. Cops broke up the confrontation, but not before someone in the crowd fired a shot. Police chased a man they saw running from the scene with a gun in his hand, but he got away.
About 20 minutes after that incident, video cameras recorded Sanders raising part of his hoodie to cover his lower face and taking a gun from another man, identified as Kameron Abram, 23. Sanders put the gun in his waistband and remained in the area.
Then, around 10:41 p.m., surveillance video showed Sanders walking west from the McDonald’s at 10 East Chicago with the rival group walking several feet behind him. No one in the second group had a gun, reached for a weapon, or even had their hands in their pockets, according to prosecutors.
Standing at the top of the CTA station’s northeast entrance, Sanders allegedly pulled the gun from his waist and fired short bursts from a pistol rigged to generate automatic gunfire like a machine gun. Prosecutors said he aimed at various people and placed his spare hand over the top of his firing arm to steady it from the powerful recoil of the automatic weapon.
Police later found 21 shell casings at the scene. Two men, 31-year-old Anthony Allen and Antonio Wade, 30, were killed. Seven others were injured.
CTA surveillance video allegedly showed Sanders handing the gun to Abram as they fled into the station after the shooting. Officials said the two men swapped sweatshirts, but Sanders eventually returned to his original hoodie because Abram’s was too small.
As Sanders and his group jumped onto the Red Line tracks to cross to the other platform, his girlfriend fell onto the electrified third rail, officials said. She remained in contact with the rail until someone pulled her off, suffering major burns, but survived.
Police, guided by CPD surveillance camera operators, arrested Sanders in the tunnel, and Abram was detained on the platform. A police canine found the gun Sanders allegedly used in the train tunnel.
Sanders initially admitted to firing the gun but claimed the other group shot first, prosecutors claimed. When confronted with video evidence that showed the victims did not have guns, Sanders allegedly said they were “reaching” for weapons and he had to do it.
Prosecutors said Sanders told investigators he got the gun in Indiana and said the after-market switch that allowed it to generate automatic gunfire is sold on the street for $20 or $25.
Abram pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a machine gun last year. He received a seven-year sentence and, after receiving the state’s standard 50% sentence reduction, went home on parole in July.
