A recent string of violent crimes in Chicago has left authorities questioning a Rogers Park man in connection with two murders and carjackings that occurred in Boystown and the Oakland neighborhood. The suspect, an 18-year-old whose name has not been released, was previously facing felony charges that were dropped just 36 hours before the crimes took place.
On February 11, Darwin Tirado, 22, was murdered and carjacked in the 700 block of West Waveland Avenue, followed by the killing of Damon Kellum, 45, less than an hour later in the 3700 block of South Lake Park Avenue. Kellum was found near Tirado’s hijacked Hyundai Sonata, leading police to connect the two crimes. Two additional carjackings occurred after the murders, leading investigators to believe they were all connected.
Tirado and another man were sitting in the Hyundai when two armed carjackers approached, demanded the vehicle and belongings, and opened fire, resulting in Tirado being shot in the back. The stolen Hyundai was later located by police, abandoned on Lake Park Avenue, with Kellum found shot in the head nearby.
The suspect was arrested in December for possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass to a vehicle, but the charges were dropped on February 9 for reasons that remain unclear. Police are also questioning a juvenile in connection with the crimes.
Authorities are investigating the possibility that the suspects obtained another vehicle, a gray Nissan sedan with Colorado license plates, after abandoning the stolen Hyundai. Surveillance footage from a gas station near 43rd Street and Wentworth Avenue shows two males dressed in black attempting to carjack a red Lexus. They later targeted a CTA worker near 87th Street and Lafayette Avenue, physically attacking and robbing him before fleeing in his Chevrolet Malibu.
The ongoing investigation into these violent crimes underscores the need for community support and vigilance in preventing further incidents.
