A violent carjacking crew that killed a man in Boystown early Wednesday is now believed to have gone 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 found the Boystown victim’s stolen car in the 3700 block of South Lake Park Avenue around 4:50 a.m., they discovered another man fatally shot at the scene. Initially, detectives considered the possibility that he might have been one of the hijackers. However, as the investigation progressed, the theory shifted. Authorities now suspect that he was another victim of an exceptionally violent two-man team that killed two people without any clear motive.
Adding to investigators’ frustration, no one reported the gunfire that killed the second man. The shooting took place on a block previously covered by the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. It remains unknown how long he remained undiscovered before being found.
The spree began around 3:59 a.m. in the 700 block of West Waveland Avenue. Two men were sitting inside a 2014 Hyundai Sonata when two armed carjackers approached, brandished handguns, and demanded the vehicle and their belongings. The offenders then opened fire, killing a 22-year-old man, and fled 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.
Approximately 45 minutes later and about two miles away, officers found 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. The man was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head. As of Thursday morning, he remained unidentified.
Although detectives have not definitively determined his role in the events, sources suggest that he was not part of the carjacking crew.
Police believe the offenders acquired another vehicle after abandoning the Hyundai: a gray Nissan sedan with Colorado license plates. The exact source of this vehicle is unclear, but around the time officers discovered the second victim, the offenders drove the Nissan to a gas station near 43rd Street and Wentworth Avenue and attempted to carjack a man in a red Lexus.
The intended victim managed to escape before the hijackers could take his car. Surveillance footage from the gas station provided authorities with a clear view of the suspects: two males dressed entirely in black, with the passenger armed and wearing a camouflage ski mask.
At around 5:15 a.m., the duo struck again near 87th Street and Lafayette Avenue, targeting a CTA worker heading home after his shift at a nearby Red Line station.
According to a preliminary CPD report, the offenders used the Nissan to block the CTA employee’s vehicle. They abandoned the Nissan, physically assaulted the worker, robbed him at gunpoint, and fled in his silver 2025 Chevrolet Malibu. The victim was taken to St. Bernard Hospital for treatment.
As of Thursday morning, no arrests have been made. CPD has not publicly connected the incidents or issued any community alerts regarding the crimes.
Brandon’s Bodies
As of 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2024, Chicago discontinued its use of ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system deployed in 12 of the city’s most violence-impacted neighborhoods. The technology pinpointed suspected gunfire locations down to specific addresses and spots like alleys, sidewalks, or houses.
Mayor Brandon Johnson stood firm in his decision to dismantle the system, despite calls from a majority of aldermen, residents, victims’ advocates, and his own appointed police superintendent to preserve it.
On this platform, CWBChicago keeps track of cases where individuals have been found shot in areas previously covered by ShotSpotter without timely corresponding 911 calls. These cases often involve victims discovered with no accompanying 911 calls or calls providing vague or incorrect information about the location of shots 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.
