Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Sun-Times Wire

Teen girl missing since August found strangled in South Shore

2023-12-14T22:30:13.35-06:00

Amarise Parker

Chicago police

A 15-year-old girl who had been missing for months was found strangled in a South Shore apartment Tuesday night, police said.

Officers found Amarise Parker unresponsive just before 7:30 p.m. in a residence in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue, Chicago police said. She was dead at the scene.

Parker, who was reported missing from the 10900 block of South Wood Street, was last seen on Aug. 30 when she left her home after returning from school, according to a missing persons alert.

At a press conference Thursday night, the girl’s mother Yahanna Clark told reporters her daughter “was a lovely soul. Everybody loved her.”

She said her daughter had been missing on and off and was dating someone living in the building where her body was found.

“She had reached out to me and was trying to come home,” Clark said. Clark said she picked her up, but the girl left again and was later found dead.

An autopsy Wednesday determined Parker died of asphyxiation by strangulation and her death was ruled a homicide.

“She didn’t deserve this,” her mom told reporters.

No arrests have been reported.

Driver shot dead in West Lawn identified

2023-12-13T22:28:55.407-06:00

Sun-Times file

A man shot and killed while driving Saturday night in the West Lawn neighborhood has been identified.

Johnny Huizar, 32, was driving about 8:50 p.m. in the 6100 block of South Central Park Avenue when two people fired shots from a sidewalk, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

He suffered a gunshot wound to the face and died the next day at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, officials said.

No arrests were reported.

Man killed in East Garfield Park shooting identified

2023-12-13T17:41:53.217-06:00

Sun-Times file

A man who was shot dead Sunday in East Garfield Park has been identified.

Darryl Porter, 32, was shot multiple times in the chest about 10:40 a.m. in the 3700 block of West Lexington Street, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died, police said.

No arrests were reported.

Metra Milwaukee North Line trains on the move after hitting vehicle near Edgebrook station on Northwest Side

2023-12-13T11:08:08.36-06:00

Sun-Times file

A Metra Milwaukee North Line train struck a vehicle near the Edgebrook station Wednesday morning on the Far Northwest Side.

The inbound train hit the vehicle around 8:05 a.m. at Caldwell Avenue near the Edgebrook station at 6400 N. Kinzua Ave., according to a Metra spokesperson.

One person was inside the vehicle when it was struck but no injuries were reported, according to Metra.

Trains were delayed for 30 to 50 minutes but were moving again by 9 a.m.

Woman shot and killed in Austin domestic dispute

2023-12-13T09:34:16.418-06:00

A woman is dead after being shot in a domestic attack in the Austin neighborhood Wednesday morning on the West Side, police said.

Maria Roque, 34, was outside in the 500 block of North Long Avenue when someone fired shots around 6:20 a.m., according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Roque was taken to Stroger Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, where she was pronounced dead at 6:53 a.m., according to the office.

No one is in custody and detectives are investigating.

Police seek silver Kia Soul in slayings of boy, 14, and man, 65 in Chicago Lawn neighborhood: CPD

2023-12-13T07:54:56.358-06:00

Sun-Times file

A teenage boy and a man were killed Tuesday in a drive-by shooting in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side.

Juan Medina Jr., 14, and Mario Medina, 65, were in the 3500 block of West 61st Place just before 4:30 p.m. when someone in a silver Kia Soul car pulled up and an occupant opened fire, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

The boy was pronounced dead at 4:41 p.m. by a doctor from Holy Cross Hospital while the man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office. Both victims lived in the 3500 block of West 61st Place.

No one was in custody.

1 killed, 2 hurt in Calumet Heights crash

2023-12-12T22:20:54.303-06:00

Adobe Stock Photo

A person died and two others were injured in a car accident Tuesday night in Calumet Heights on the South Side.

The driver of a Hyundai collided with the driver of a Mercedes about 7:45 p.m. at East 88th Street and South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago police said.

A female in the Hyundai was pronounced dead at the scene. A male in the Hyundai was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition wasn’t known. Their ages weren’t known, police said.

A 27-year-old man in the Mercedes was transported to Trinity Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.

No other injuries were reported, and no other information was available.

CPD’s Major Accidents Unit is investigating.

Carjacking suspect killed in hit-and-run while fleeing police in Austin

2023-12-12T21:11:05.129-06:00

Sun-Times file

A carjacking suspect running from police was struck and killed by a hit and run vehicle Tuesday afternoon in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

Twenty-five year-old Vesmo Banks, was seen exiting a car about 2:30 p.m. at an auto cleaning service in the 800 block of South Cicero Avenue, Chicago police said. He was the only person in the car, which been reported stolen.

Members of the Vehicular Hijacking Task Force tried to stop Banks, but he ran a “short distance” into the street, where he was hit by a semi truck, officials said. The truck driver did not stop.

Banks was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Both the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) and the CPD’s Major Accidents Unit are investigating.

Man arrested in stabbing on Red Line train in the Loop, police say

2023-12-11T22:51:34.284-06:00

Sun-Times file photo

A person was stabbed on a CTA Red Line train Monday afternoon in the Loop, police said.

A man was on the train in the 100 block of North State Street about 3:20 p.m. when he pulled out a sharp object and stabbed a person who was identified as a male, according to Chicago police.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said.

The suspect, 32, was taken into custody after he was seen damaging cars near State and Lake streets, police said.

Charges were pending.

4 shot in Brainerd home, teen boy in custody

2023-12-11T22:02:09.29-06:00

Chicago police work the scene where multiple people were shot in the 9300 block of South Racine Avenue in Brainerd on Monday evening.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Three teenage boys were among four people shot during an argument Monday night inside a home in Brainerd on the South Side.

The four were on the second floor of a home in the 9300 block of South Racine Avenue when they started arguing and a 16-year-old boy pulled out a handgun and fired shots about 7 p.m., Chicago police said.

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen and arm and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, police said. Another 15-year-old boy was shot in the right shoulder and was in fair condition at the same hospital.

Authorities say four teens were on the second floor of a home when an argument began. A 16-year-old boy pulled out a handgun and fired shots. Three teens and an adult male were wounded.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A 21-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds to the right shoulder and buttocks and a graze wound to the forehead, police said. He was in critical condition at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The suspect was also shot in the right hand and abdomen, and was placed into custody, police said. He was in fair condition at Comer Children’s Hospital. It wasn’t clear who fired the shots that wounded him.

Area detectives are investigating the incident.

Outside the home, a bloody shoe was left on a sidewalk, and a bloodstain was next to a red car parked on the street, according to a Sun-Times photographer.

Police found a bloody shoe and bloodstains on the ground outside the home in the 9300 block of South Racine Avenue in Brainerd on Monday evening.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Chicago police work the scene where multiple people were shot in the 9300 block of South Racine Avenue in Brainerd.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Contributing: Tyler Pasicak LaRiviere