Watch CBS News

1 Killed, 1 Wounded In Eisenhower Expressway Shooting

UPDATE: A second shooting on the Eisenhower Expressway was reported late Thursday morning.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was killed and a woman was critically wounded in a shooting on the Eisenhower Expressway early Thursday.

Illinois State Police said the shooting happened around 5:30 a.m. in the outbound lanes of the Eisenhower near Laramie Avenue. A man and a woman in a Jeep Liberty were wounded, and the SUV pulled off the Eisenhower near Laramie and Flournoy.

Police said both victims were taken to Stroger Hospital. The man later died. The woman was in critical condition.

eisenhower-victims
Johnathon Ortiz (left) and Alexis Garcia (right) were shot on the Eisenhower Expressway on Sept. 29, 2016. Ortiz was killed and Garcia was critically wounded. (Family photo/Facebook)

Relatives identified the victims as Johnathon Ortiz and Alexis Garcia, both 22. Loved ones said Ortiz and Garcia were a fun-loving couple, and both were aspiring musicians.

Ortiz was an aspiring rapper who went by the name "John D.O.E." and his girlfriend was an aspiring singer. Ortiz's brothers said he recently performed at the House of Blues, and had a gig at the United Center next week.

Family members said they believe the couple was traveling to get a bite to eat when someone began shooting at them on the Eisenhower Expressway. Ortiz was driving, and took the brunt of the gunshots. He was able to maneuver the SUV off the expressway at the Laramie Avenue exit.

The rapper's family said he was wrongly targeted.

"It had to be a mistake. I mean, there was nothing that John has done or does in his day to day that points to something ," his uncle Frank Robles said.

Ortiz's brother, Rey Rivera, said he was a young man whose passion has been to make it in the music industry since he graduated high school.

"From graduation, he was focused on his music career. You know, never had any animosity with anybody. It seems like it was mistaken identity," Rivera said.

Ortiz's family said all he wanted was to be a star, and that he had dreams of making it to Los Angeles someday.

The Ortiz family has set up a GoFundMe me page for Jonathon's funeral expenses.

State troopers shut down the westbound lanes of the Eisenhower for hours they searched for evidence. Police recovered at least 11 shell casings and reopened the outbound lanes by about 9:30 a.m.

Less than seven hours later, shortly before noon Thursday, a second fatal shooting was reported less than a mile away, in the eastbound lanes near Central Avenue. The victim managed to drive himself to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.