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Police Release Surveillance Video Of Fatal Shooting In Lincoln Square

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago police on Thursday released surveillance video showing a gunman killing a 59-year-old man during a robbery attempt on Wednesday in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

As CBS 2's Jackie Kostek reported, the shooting happened in an alley behind the 2600 block of West Catalpa Avenue, a short distance from the intersection of Bryn Mawr and Lincoln avenues. Late Thursday, the victim's van was still parked nearby.

And when we talk about brazen crimes, this happened just steps from the Lincoln (20th) District police station. The parking garage of the police station right there is visible from the crime scene.

"I heard the shots – 'Pop, pop, pop,'" said neighbor Anwar Shamoun.

Shamoun was watching TV with the window open around 7 a.m. Wednesday, when he heard the gunshots that took the life of his neighbor, 59-year-old Rae Park.

"This poor guy, quiet guy minding his own business, sitting in his own car - I don't why this guy came early in the morning with a gun trying to hold up people," Shamoun said. "This is really ridiculous."

Homicide | 2600 block of West Catalpa St. | 12/01/2021 | JE462052 by Chicago Police on YouTube

The surveillance footage shows Park walking up to his minivan around, when a light-colored car pulls up heading east in the alley and comes to a stop several feet away.

A man wearing a dark hoodie then gets out of the passenger side of the car, and walks up to Park as he is standing beside the driver's side door of his minivan. Police said that's when the man in the hoodie announced a robbery, and got into a fight with Park.

Although the video released by CPD does not show the actual shooting, the footage does show the gunman pointing his weapon at Park and then later running back to his car and fleeing the scene.

Shamoun and other neighbors expressed shock over a shooting outside their apartment, just steps from a police station. Crime data analyzed by CBS 2 shows shootings are up in Lincoln Square.

The shooting Wednesday shooting puts the total number at 10 so far this year, two of which have been fatal. Compare that to last year when there was one fatal shooting.

Still, the community is among those with the lowest number of shootings.

Shamoun has a message for the person responsible for killing his neighbor.

"You could've just walked away, ran away. You didn't have to shoot him. Or if you wanted to shoot, you could've shot in the air - scare the guy," he said. "You should be caught, my friend."

Police said the gunman's vehicle was last seen headed north on the 5500 block of North Rockwell Street.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Detective Morales with Area 3 at 312-744-8261.

Police said if anyone sees the gunman from the video, they should call 911 and should not approach him.

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