Veteran Cab Driver, 59, Found Slain In Lincoln Square
(CBS) -- A disturbing discovery was made behind a Chicago Public Library in the Lincoln Square neighborhood Monday morning: the body of a man shot to death in a cab.
Kamil Shamji was found in the cab around 7:55 a.m. in the 4400 block of North Lincoln Avenue. According to police, the 59-year-old man died of a gunshot to the head.
Investigators spent hours processing the cab and collecting evidence as people living in the area watched in disbelief.
Shamji was a popular, long-time driver who had been robbed before.
Friend Sohail Ghaziani calls Shamji "a hell of a nice guy" and says he would sometimes let riders off the hook if they told him they had misplaced their money.
"Who does that when you're struggling yourself?" Ghaziani tells CBS 2's Brad Edwards.
Shamji, a widower for the last 15 years, drove a cab to support his two daughters.
His comrades suspect robbery was the motive in the killing. Presumably, he was slain by his last fare.
"He lost his life for what, a few bucks? It's shameful, shameful," Ghaziani says.
Monday, the cabbies' union rallied to fight for tougher safety standards, including silent GPS alarms that would dispatch the nearest patrol unit.
"Whether this would have helped today, we don't know. But the fact that of not having it available certainly is a hindrance to drivers' safety," cab driver Cheryl Miller says.
Police may have video surveillance of the person Shamji last picked up.
Neighbors were shocked at the murder.
"This kind of stuff doesn't usually happen in our area so it's kind of scary," said Natalia Ruiz.
No one was in custody.
