Evanston police say a man robbed and beaten on Howard Street died this morning of his injuries at St. Francis Hospital. And they believe the photo accompanying this story may show his two attackers.
Cmdr. Tom Guenther says John Costulas of Chicago — who wore hearing aids and walked with a cane — was walking eastbound in the 500 block of Howard Street at 5:20 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 2. on his way to work.
Video surveilance images show that as Costulas approached the Marathon Gas station at 555 Howard, two men who’d just left the gas station approached him and without provocation attacked him.
Guenther says one of the suspects struck Costulas in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
The other suspect then went through the victim’s pockets. Then, Guenther says, the offenders fled the area leaving Costulas on the ground, unconscious and bleeding.
After being alerted by passersby, Evanston Police responded and called for paramedics who transported Costulas to the hospital.
The Evanston Police department is now investigating this incident as a homicide and are seeking to identify two suspects wanted for questioning who, in the photo above, are seen leaving the Howard Street Red Line station about 12 minutes before Costulas was attacked. (Click here for a larger version of the image.)
Anyone having information about this incident can contact the Evanston Police Department’s Detective Bureau by calling 847-866-5040, or by texting EPDTIP to 274637; all text tips will remain anonymous.
Related story
Police seek two in Howard Street attack
Related videos
Surveilance video #1 from gas station (.avi download)
Surveilance video #2 from gas station (.avi download)
Robbery victim
The initial incident turned my stomach but now I am truly nauseated that this could happen to anyone. It would be naive to think Not In Evanston but it is painful no matter where it happens.
emergency response time
why did it take the police over 5 minutes to arrive? I watched the video and saw a young man discover the victim and place the call yet it took evanston police over 5 minutes to arrive? and by the time the video ended, again over 5 minutes from the emergency call, no paramedics had arrived.
What?
Do you think a call goes from that guys phone directly to a police car? Do you even know if he was on the phone with Chicago or Evanston dispatch when he called (cell phone used on Howard St.)? You don't know the facts so don't look to blame your public services. By the way, THEY had nothing to do with the filth that beat this poor man. We, as a whole, should be more concerned with the abundant amount of vehicles that drove by this guy without even noticing him bleeding on the ground.
Maybe now…
Maybe now the police will get or use help [e.g. NU, Chicago police, a regional coop] with mathematical tools [deconvolution] to enhance pictures from video cameras so that suspects can be identified. So far there seems to be little interest from the city. If we won't use the tools to make the camera of use, why have the cameras they talk about.
While the CBS show 'Numb3rs' took a lot of liberties, it did show how science can be used by the police. Also some cases were based on actual events/techniques. See the book 'Numbers Behind Numb3rs" that EPL has.
Poor Kids
I bet these poor, poor kids were just trying to steal to survive…. Just like the "flash mob" children stealing for the necessities of life … I bet these boys were just looking to get money to buy food or school books …