Update: Carjacking crew targeted 4 victims, killing 2 in predawn spree stretching from Boystown to Chatham

Investigators now believe the violent carjacking crew that killed a man in Boystown early Wednesday went on to kill a second victim and commit at least two more carjackings before sunrise, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

When officers located the Boystown victim’s stolen car in the 3700 block of South Lake Park Avenue around 4:50 a.m., they found another man fatally shot at the scene. At first, detectives considered whether he might have been one of the hijackers. As the investigation unfolded, however, the working theory shifted. Authorities now believe he was another victim of what sources describe as an exceptionally violent two-man team that killed two people for no clear reason.

Compounding investigators’ frustration, no one called 911 to report the gunfire that killed the second man. The shooting occurred on a block that was previously covered by the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. It remains unclear how long he lay undiscovered before being found.

The crime spree began around 3:59 a.m. in the 700 block of West Waveland Avenue. According to police, two men were sitting inside a 2014 Hyundai Sonata when two armed carjackers approached, displayed handguns, and demanded the vehicle and the victims’ belongings. The offenders then opened fire, killing a 22-year-old man, and drove away with the victims’ car.

Shortly after 4 a.m., a Chicago Police Department license plate reader detected the stolen Hyundai traveling in the 100 block of West 31st Street, a source said.

About 45 minutes later and roughly two miles away, officers located the Hyundai abandoned in the 3700 block of South Lake Park Avenue after a passerby reported a man lying unresponsive in or near the vehicle. Officers found he was dead, shot in the head. As of Thursday morning, he remained unidentified.

Update: On Thursday afternoon, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the Boystown victim died from a gunshot wound to his back. The Lake Park victim, shot in the head, was 45.

A source emphasized that detectives have not definitively determined how he fits into the sequence of events, but added that investigators no longer think he was part of the carjacking crew.

Police believe the offenders obtained another vehicle after abandoning the Hyundai on Lake Park: a gray Nissan sedan bearing Colorado license plates. Exactly where they got it is unclear, but around the time officers were discovering the second victim, the offenders drove the Nissan onto a gas station lot near 43rd Street and Wentworth Avenue and tried to carjack a man who was inside a red Lexus.

The intended victim sped away before the hijackers could take his car. Surveillance video from the gas station provided the police with the best look at the suspects so far: two males of unknown race dressed entirely in black. The passenger was armed and wore a camouflage ski mask.

About 5:15 a.m., the pair struck again, this time near 87th Street and Lafayette Avenue, where they targeted a CTA worker who was heading home after finishing his shift at the nearby Red Line station.

According to a preliminary CPD report, the offenders used the Nissan with Colorado plates to block the CTA employee’s vehicle. They abandoned the Nissan, physically attacked the CTA worker, and robbed him at gunpoint before driving off in his silver 2025 Chevrolet Malibu. EMS transported the victim to St. Bernard Hospital for treatment.

As of Thursday morning, no arrests have been announced. CPD has not publicly linked the crimes or issued any community alerts about the incidents.

Brandon’s Bodies

As of 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2024, Chicago ended its use of ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system that had been deployed in 12 of the city’s most violence-impacted neighborhoods. The technology identified suspected gunfire locations down to specific addresses and even pinpointed spots like alleys, sidewalks, or the side of a house.

Mayor Brandon Johnson refused to reverse his decision to dismantle the system, despite calls to preserve it from a majority of aldermen, numerous residents, victims’ advocates, and his own appointed police superintendent.

On this page, CWBChicago tracks cases where people have been found shot in areas that were previously covered by ShotSpotter without timely accompanying 911 calls. These cases often involve victims discovered with no corresponding 911 calls or calls that gave vague or incorrect information about where shots were fired.

Editor’s note: Case #13 was removed from this list on May 21, 2025, after the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the individual died by suicide in a fall from height.