Four Charged In Aurora Shooting
AURORA, Ill. (STMW) -- Four people have been charged in connection with a shooting that left a west suburban woman critically injured Friday morning.
The shooting happened at 3:24 a.m., when police received a 911 call saying multiple shots were fired and one person was hit in the 200 block of North Fourth Street in Aurora, according to a statement from Aurora police.
Officers found the woman in a bathroom "suffering from a gunshot wound to her neck," the statement said.
She was taken to a hospital in Aurora before being airlifted to another hospital, according to police. Her injuries were described as "life-threatening."
The two accused gunmen are 20-year-old Arturo Trejo of the 400 block of Lancaster Avenue in Aurora and 32-year-old Ajaie Martin of the 300 block of Old Indian Trail in Aurora, police said.
Witnesses said two male suspects –whom police believe were Trejo and Martin -- were seen running southbound away from the home after the shots were fired, and a police K-9 unit led officers to a home on the same block, police said.
A search warrant was executed about 11:40 a.m. by the police Special Response Team. Trejo jumped from a second-floor window just as officers arrived and was caught "after a short foot chase," the statement said. Five others inside the home were taken into custody for questioning.
Trejo and Martin were each charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of armed violence and single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm by a gang member and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, police said.
Alexander Turner and Erika Benavides, both of the 200 block of North Fourth, were also charged after officers searched their apartment, police said.
Turner, 21, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID card and unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, police said. Benavides, 19, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID card.
The two other people questioned about the shooting, a 22-year-old Elgin man and a 19-year-old Aurora man, were released without charges, police said.
Police said the shooting does not appear to be a random act, and the investigation "does point to gang motivation," according to the statement.
Bond and court information for the people charged was not immediately available Saturday morning.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
