Top city officials said nothing publicly at Saturday’s crime prevention meeting about the city’s first homicide of the year — which took place about nine hours before the meeting started.
But they privately distributed a press release to aldermen attending the meeting which was also provided to Chicago news organizations Saturday morning.
“I just thought it was appalling that all those people who turned out to show their commitment on Saturday were sweet-talked about what we’re doing about crime when we had this hanging over us,” Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said today.
“This is precisely the kind of crime we need to be concerned about — serious violence in our community,” she added.
The police say that 21-year-old Booker Guy, of the 1700 block of Hartrey Ave. was standing with friends in an alley in the 2000 block of Darrow Ave. shortly before midnight Friday when a masked man in a car drove up, rolled down the passenger-side window and fired several shots.
Mr. Guy was hit in the abdomen, and Jarron Jackson, of the 600 block of Hull Terrace in Evanston, was shot in the left hand and thigh.
Both men were taken to Evanston Hospital, where Mr. Guy died in the intensive care unit after undergoing emergency surgery.
Mr. Jackson was treated and released.
Evanston police spotted a vehicle matching a description provided by witnesses driving south on Asbury Avenue and with help from Chicago police were able to stop the car in the 6200 block of N. Western Ave. in Chicago.
The driver, a 22-year-old Chicago resident, is now in custody at the Evanston police lockup.
Police say they recovered a semi-automatic handgun and an ammunition magazine in the street near where the car was stopped.
No charges had been filed as of late Saturday.