BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Chicago Police reported a decrease in murders and shooting victims in June 2014 compared to the same month last year.

Police recorded 35 murders last month -- eight less than in June 2013. The 35 slayings are also a decrease from June 2012 and 2011, when the city tallied 47 and 45 murders, respectively.

The youngest murder victim during that time was 15-year-old Dekarlos Scott. The oldest victims were 56-year-old Luis Winn and Albert Glover.

The most murders last month happened in the Austin community, where six people were killed, according to data from the Cook County medical examiner's office. The Chicago Lawn and Greater Grand Crossing communities each had three slayings.

While murders decreased, the number of shooting incidents rose slightly, police said. There were 219 shooting incidents in June 2014, compared to 213 during the same month the year before. Both are a decrease from the 244 shooting incidents in June 2012 and 242 in June 2011.

Despite an increase in shootings, the number of people shot decreased from 288 in June 2013 to 275 in June 214, police said. The 275 shooting victims are a drastic decrease from the 315 people shot in 2012 and 287 in June 2011.

Overall, police reported 171 murders since the start of 2014. During that time, the Cook County medical examiner’s office tallied 180 homicides. The difference comes from cases detectives ruled self-defense or involuntary manslaughter.

While murders were down in the first six months of 2014, shooting incidents and victims increased.

William Paschal / Photo from Chicago Police

BY ANGELIQUE WHITE
Homicide Watch Chicago

William Paschal was ordered held on a $1 million bond Tuesday for his alleged role in an armed robbery that ended in a fatal retaliation shooting last January in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, prosecutors said.

Paschal and an acquaintance are accused of fatally shooting 19-year-old college student Kevin Baker during an armed robbery in the 6200 block of South Campbell Avenue about 4:15 p.m. Jan. 16, authorities said.

Baker and his 23-year-old cousin were walking home after classes at Harold Washington College when Paschal and his acquaintance exited a maroon minivan with loaded guns, said Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini.

Paschal, 19, then took the cousins' cell phones at gunpoint, Santini said.

After being robbed, Baker and his cousin attempted to continue their walk home when the acquaintance asked, “Who he is?” then opened fire, Santini said.

Baker, who lived nearby in the 6200 block of South Maplewood Avenue, was shot five times, including at least once in the head, authorities said. Responding police officers found Baker “being held by his mother who ran to the scene after hearing the gunshots,” Santini said.

Paschal and his acquaintance, both admitted gang members, fled in the van after the shooting, Santini said. Baker died two days later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Baker, an only child, was studying to be a veterinarian, neighbor and family friend Earnestine Barnette said after the shooting.

Detectives learned Paschal sold one of the stolen cell phones to a pawnshop near South Racine Avenue and West 63rd Street, Santini said.

Overall, Chicago Police report cell phone robberies and thefts were down 28 percent compared to 2013.

After further investigation, detectives learned the robbers had made statements implying they had been involved in the shooting of a rival gang member as retaliation for the murder of a fellow gang member.

“That was an innocent kid. He didn’t have anything to do with nothing out there,” Barnette said.

Police arrested Paschal, of the 7200 block of South Artesian Avenue, on June 29 and he was charged with two counts murder and two counts of armed robber.

He appeared in court Tuesday wearing a red sweatshirt and white pants. Santini noted Paschal's "extensive juvenile background," and Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Paschal held on $1 million bond and issued a next court date of July 21.

Paschal’s attorney had asked the judge to take into consideration that he did not fire the shots that killed Baker. He noted Paschal is a high school graduate with four siblings.

After bond was set, Paschal turned around and yelled “Love ya’ll man!” to relatives.

His acquaintance has not been arrested and charged for the murder, authorities said.

-- Contributing: Tina Sfondeles

Scene where Michael Patton was fatally shot / Photo by Vincent D. Johnson

BY VINCENT D. JOHNSON
For the Chicago Sun-Times

At my son's fifth birthday party on Sunday, a friend asked me if my block was noisy.

I replied as I always do: “No. It’s a quiet, tree lined, one-way street”.

But Monday night was different.

I found myself barefoot, ankle deep in water, holding the hand of a 17-year-old boy who had been shot during the downpour. I told him to hang in there and that the ambulance was on the way.

I don’t know the exact time, but the thunder and lightning were constant, the rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was blowing hard.

I had been watching the storm through an open second-floor window that faces south onto 50th Place. Shortly after I went to the basement to check my 116-year-old house for flooding, I heard three loud cracks.

When I looked out the window, I saw a teenage boy running through the yard across the street yelling for help. I couldn’t see what happened from the window, but I assumed that a large tree branch had fallen on a car, possibly trapping someone inside.

I ran downstairs, opened the front door and saw what I thought was a man laying face up in the gutter of the partially flooded street.

I ran upstairs to tell my wife to call 911, which she was already doing. Then we both grabbed our raincoats and a flashlight.

Two other teenagers were near the man, who was lying motionless in the gutter when we went outside to help. One boy stood quiet and motionless; the other paced back and fourth saying, “They shot my brother.”

Then he picked up some of his brother’s belongings from the street, as if he didn’t know what else to do.

I leaned over the wounded teen and checked his left wrist for a pulse but felt nothing. Then I pressed my fingers against his neck, but before I could find a pulse, his entire body twitched and gasped for air.

I now knew he was still alive, but I didn’t know what to do to help.

It was dark, there was water everywhere and a nearby street lamp and my flashlight were the only lights around. My wife came out with a towel to stop any bleeding, but the rain and the dark pool of water made it impossible to find the wound.

I unzipped his fleece jacket, which revealed bare skin and a bullet wound in his right chest. There was no blood coming out, just white tissue that made the wound look like a belly button.

A few neighbors came outside, and that’s when I noticed a gun on the curb just feet from the boy. I told a neighbor to stand over the gun and make sure nobody picked it up.

I wasn’t sure who did the shooting, but I knew that emotions were high, and I didn’t want to provide an opportunity for a second attack while I was around.

I mostly stayed close by the wounded teen as he lay on his back, arms spread, knees bent like Jesus on an invisible cross. He wasn’t gasping for air much anymore, and my wife, who has a medical background, went into the house to search for a respiratory mask.

I waited outside holding his hand, occasionally looking up to check for an ambulance or the police.

The crowd gathered around was starting to wonder aloud, “Where is the ambulance?”

“Where are the police?”

A few cars drove past, and the occupants rolled down the windows and gasped.

It felt like forever, but I knew it had probably been less than five minutes since we called 911.

I looked back down at the teen and grab his hand again. I don’t remember if I said anything else to him, but I know I patted him on the back of the hand as I looked toward his face.

Photo by Vincent D. Johnson / For Sun-Times Media

His big brown eyes remained wide open as if he was afraid to close them as he looked up into the tree branches.

I stood up and looked down the block, hoping for an ambulance. When I saw a police SUV about a block away I waved my flashlight up and down.

The SUV’s spotlight shone down the block through a light rain as they approached. I looked back at the teen and hoped he’d pull through, although I knew just by looking at him that he was no longer alive.

He was motionless with his big eyes staring up into the rain.

As a professional photographer and photojournalist, I am used to being ready to document news at the drop of a hat. I’ve been to a few crime scenes over the years, and even put myself at risk to photograph a fire in the apartment next door.

When I first walked out the door, a part of me thought about going back inside and getting my camera. But I remembered what a great teacher once told me, “You’re a human first and a photojournalist second.”

I wrestled with the idea of taking photos right after police and paramedics arrived, but I it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until the police tape was set and a blanket placed over the teen that the scene began to look like the crime scenes I was used to.

Except this time I had a vantage point from my front door.

I could say I took a few photos because that is what I do, but really I took them because I needed to be able to put a lens between me and the reality at all of our front doors.

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Chicago Police reported a 5 percent decrease in murders through the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

The 171 slayings were a 32 percent decrease from the unusually violent first half of 2012, and more modest 8 percent decrease from the start of 2011, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office, which counts murders differently, reported 180 homicides so far in 2014 compared to 187 in the first six months of 2013. The difference comes from cases detectives ruled self-defense or involuntary manslaughter, police said.

“We are never going to be happy with the five percent,” said Robert Tracy, Chicago Police chief of crime control strategies. “We are never going to be happy until there are zero shootings, zero murders and zero crime.”

While citywide murder totals declined by any count, the communities with the most killings in recent years continued to lead the city in slayings in the first half of 2014.

The large Austin community, which had the most killings between 2011 and 2013, also had the most killings midway through this year with 19, according to data from the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The most recent murder in Austin happened June 26 when 56-year-old Albert Glover was fatally shot outside his home in the 100 block of North Leamington Avenue.

Only two other communities had double-digit murder totals in the first half of the year: Chicago Lawn and West Garfield Park, according to the medical examiner’s office.

“We looked at these communities, and we’ve put additional resources into these communities,” said Tracy, who noted the city is also providing social services to the most effected areas in addition to standard policing practices.

Tracy also said that while murders have increased in the Chicago Lawn District, shootings have gone down.

Despite the continued high murder totals on the West Side, police said the 171 murders are the fewest in the first half of any year since 1963. However, police have changed how killings are counted killings differently throughout the past 50 years.

In a statistical snapshot so far this year, the average murder victim was an 18-year-old man, according to the medical examiner’s office. Thirty-one of the victims were under the age of 18, and 20 were older than 50.

The youngest victim was 3-week-old Rachel Garcia, who was killed March 1 in her home in the 5100 block of South Hyde Park Boulevard. Prosecutors said her father, emergency medical technician Jose Garcia, shook the infant before throwing her in the air about 100 times prior to her death.

The oldest victim was 76-year-old Leannia Hall, who was found strangled March 20 in her home in the 900 block of North Central Park Avenue in the Humboldt Park community. Ronald Winfield, 65, has been charged for her murder.

Hall was one of only 22 female homicide victims, according to the medical examiner’s office. Of the 180 homicides reported by the ME’s office, 149 were shootings. The second leading cause of violent death was stabbings, with 13 reported.

While murders continued to decline, police reported a 6 percent increase in shooting incidents – an incident can include more than one victim – and an 8 percent increase in shooting victims compared to the same period last year.

“We are up against a historical year from last year … It’s how we are trending long term as far as where we are going in Chicago,” Tracy said.

Chicago Police reported 880 shooting incidents and 1,103 shooting victims through the first six months of 2014, an increase from the 833 incidents and 1,018 victims last year.

However, the first six months of 2014 saw fewer shooting incidents and victims than during the same time period in 2011 and 2012.

A map of all the 2014 homicide victims can be found here.

Dakari Pargo was shot to death in the West Englewood neighborhood early Wednesday.

Pargo, 19, had been shot in the head and back in the 7100 block of South Winchester Avenue about 1:45 a.m., authorities said.

He may have been riding a bicycle when shot, according to police, who found him lying in the street when they arrived to a call of a person shot.

Pargo, of the 7300 block of South Damen Avenue, died less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating if the shooting was gang related, police said.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Jimero Starling was shot and killed Wednesday morning in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Starling, 19, was shot in the head in the 3300 block of West Division Street about 6:30 a.m., authorities said.

Starling, of the 1500 block of North Karlov Avenue, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

A 16-year-old boy has died after being shot in the head Tuesday evening in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Lafayette Walton, was shot in the 1200 block of North Keeler Avenue at 5:18 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Lafayette, of the 2400 block of West Grenshaw Street, died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 6:52 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Erick Sanders / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

After allegedly gunning down his on-and-off roommate in her bedroom last month, Cook County prosecutors said a sweaty and nervous Erick Sanders repeatedly admitted to a friend that he “messed up” and asked his mother to drive him to Indiana.

As the mother and son made their way south, Sanders got a call from police asking him to return to the city because they had questions about Carnesha Fort’s murder.

But 19-year-old Sanders, who got out of prison earlier this year, told his mother he didn’t want to go back behind bars and got out of her car and fled at a gas station before stealing her cell phone and $40, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

Sanders was back in prison Thursday after he was ordered held without bond for Fort’s June 6th murder.

Sanders had lived on and off with the mother of four and others in a Garfield Park residence after he was released from prison in February for violating his probation in a drug case.

But he had recently started fighting with Fort, 22, over his contributions for rent and groceries and Fort’s use of Sanders’ LINK card, Santini said.

On the night of the murder, Sanders came to the residence in the 100 block of North Keeler Avenue and asked to use Fort’s phone to call a cab, Santini said.

Sanders left the residence but came back a few minutes later claiming to have left his phone there, Santini said.

Sanders went to the bathroom before entering Fort’s bedroom and shooting her, Santini said.

A witness heard a pop and saw Sanders run out, prosecutors said.

Carnesha Fort / Family photo

Fort’s four children -- ages 3, 5, 7 and 8 -- were home when she was killed, her longtime boyfriend, Darnell “LA” Tubbs said.

A child was heard yelling from the window of the apartment for help, Santini said.

Sanders, whose address was listed in the 0-100 block of North Long, was allegedly identified by witnesses in a physical line-up.

Fort worked for Hudson Concessions in a stockroom at O’Hare International Airport, but had dreams of going back to school to pursue a career as a pharmacist, Tubbs said.

Sean Shelton / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN

A purported gang member was ordered held without bond Thursday for allegedly murdering Stephon Wright in a drive-by shooting in the West Pullman neighborhood last year.

Sean Shelton, 22, and an acquaintance saw 18-year-old Wright and others in a parked car in the 10400 block of South Green Street July 1, 2013, and recognized them as being involved in a gang feud between factions of the Gangster Disciples, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Alexandra Molesky said.

Shelton and his friend then drove Shelton’s mother’s car to where their gang kept their weapons and returned to Green Street, Molesky said.

First, someone in a green car drove by and pointed at Wright’s car, Molesky said. Seconds later, Shelton drove by with his friend and allegedly opened fire, she said.

After the initial blast of gunfire, Wright and the women ran in different directions, but Wright was slowed when his pants slipped down while running, police said. Shelton then went up to him and shot him in the head, Molesky said.

Wright, of the 10800 block of South Racine, died less than an hour later at Roseland Community Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Hours later, an occupant from the green car was arrested with the .40 caliber gun that was used in the murder.

Shelton, of the 12100 block of South Normal Avenue, was identified by several witnesses and allegedly admitted to shooting Wright. He was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said.

His friend has not yet been charged.

Nobody else was injured in the shooting.

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Even after Jimero Starling told a group Latin Kings that he also was in their gang, they still killed him, Cook County prosecutors said.

Starling and his pals were riding their bicycles west on Division Street between Kedzie and Spaulding avenues after leaving a friend’s party early Wednesday morning when Randy “Garfield” Ruiz, Jeremy Medina and three others allegedly started shouting gang slogans and questioned them about their gang affiliation.

Starling, 19, tried explaining that he was a Latin King as well but the other group kept harassing them, Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Mack said.

At some point, one of the purported Latin Kings punched one of Starling’s friends, Mack said. As another person from Starling’s group tried to move the victim who was hit across the street and seek help, Ruiz, 18, pointed his gun at them and continued shouting gang slogans, Mack said.

Ruiz, Medina and the others chased Starling and his friends as they ran west on Division and eventually Medina and another person caught up with Starling and started punching him, Mack said.

Ruiz then allegedly ran up to Starling and shot him in the head before fleeing south on Spaulding with the others.

Jeremy Medina / Photo from Chicago Police

Witnesses identified both Ruiz and Medina and surveillance camera captured the shooting from across the street, Mack said.

Ruiz, of the 3200 block of West Cortez Street, was ordered held without bail Thursday.

Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Medina, 20, of the 1100 block of North Lawler Avenue, held in lieu of $750,000 bond.

Corey Hudson was killed in a West Englewood shooting that left another man critically wounded early Friday.

Hudson and a 35-year-old man were standing outside in the 2000 block of West 63rd Street when a black vehicle pulled up and someone inside shot both men about 2:35 a.m., authorities said.

Hudson, 34, of the 6000 block of South Bell Avenue, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other man was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition, police said.

The vehicle sped off after the shooting and nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

Shambreyh Barfield was killed in a Thursday afternoon shooting that left another woman in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

The women, both 21, were in the 3800 block of West Monroe Street when they were shot about 4:15 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Barfield, of the 6900 block of South Winchester Avenue, was shot in the head and died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other woman was shot in the arm, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

BY MICHAEL LANSU

Chicago Police reported a 5 percent decrease in murders through the first six months of 2014 compared with the same period last year.

The 171 slaying were a 32 percent decrease from the unusually violent first half of 2012, and a more modest 8 percent decrease from the start of 2011, police said.

While citywide murder totals declined, the communities with the most killings in recent years continued to lead the city in slayings in the first half of 2014.

“We looked at these communities, and we’ve put additional resources into these communities,” said Robert Tracy, chief of crime control strategies for Chicago Police, who noted that the city also is providing social services to the areas in addition law enforcement.

Despite the continued high murder totals on the West Side, police said the 171 murders are the fewest in the first half six months of any year since 1963, police spokesman Marty Maloney said.

While murders continued to decline, police reported an 8 percent increase in shooting victims through the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2013. However, shooting victims this year were down 17 percent from 2012 and down 3 percent from 2011 during the same period.

“We are up against a historical year [in terms of decline] from last year … it’s how we are trending long term as far as where we are going in Chicago,” Tracy said.

Evelyn Diaz, commissioner of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, said her employees are working “hand in hand” with the police department. She also noted the work of community anti-violence groups.

“There are so may different things contributing that we might never be able to see which is driving the results, and we are OK with that,” Diaz said. “We think the approach has to be everybody coming at it from different angles. … There is still work to do because there is still areas where we need to see more gains.”

RONALD SAWYER:

Ronald Sawyer / Family photo

Ronald Sawyer was standing in the 300 block of West 114th Street, less than a mile from his Roseland home, when he was shot multiple times about 1:15 p.m. Jan. 30, authorities said. He was the first murder victim of 2014.

Sawyer, 30, didn’t have children of his own, but had a “heart of gold” toward the neighborhood kids, his aunt Delores Smith said. He enjoyed soap operas and working on cars.

“I won’t say it tore our family apart because I don’t want to give the person who did this any credit,” Smith said. “It only united us closer.”

No one has been charged in Sawyer’s death.

CINDY BAHENA:

Cindy Bahena / Photo from Facebook

Cindy Bahena, 21, was a passenger in a vehicle that a known gang member was driving through Logan Square in the early hours of April 27. When the car passed a group in the 3500 block of West Fullerton, somebody on the sidewalk yelled gang slogans and opened fire, police said.

One of the bullets struck Bahena, and when she died less than 15 minutes later at a local hospital she became the 100th homicide victim of the year, authorities said. No charges have been filed in the case.

RONALD HOLLIMAN:

Ronald Holliman was standing outside with two men when a group got out of a nearby vehicle and opened fire from an alley about 5 p.m. on June 4.

As an 18-year-old man, Holliman was the same age as 11 other murder victims, the most common age of those killed so far this year. He was shot in the in the 4900 block of West End in the Austin community, making him a typical victim in both age and location. No charges have been filed.

CHARLES SHORT:

Charles Short / Family photo

Charles D. Short was talking with a 32-year-old man in the 4200 block of South Princeton Avenue when a gunman opened fire and shot him in the head about 6:30 p.m. May 30, authorities said.

Short, a 51-year-old pastor, was one of 20 homicide victims over the age of 50 so far this year.

Short, who lived nearby, was coming home from the grocery to cook dinner, said his mother, Kate Taylor. “He was a good person. You could ask him for anything,” she said.

No charges have been filed in Short’s shooting.

*Calculations for some figures include data from the city, police department and medical examiner’s office.

Joel Bentley was fatally shot in a Walgreens parking lot early Saturday in the Clearing neighborhood.

Bentley, 30, was in the parking lot on the southwest corner of West 63rd Street and South Austin Avenue when he was shot in the abdomen just before 1 a.m., police said.

Bentley, 30, of the 5000 block of South Keating Avenue, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 5:46 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Deandre Brown was fatally shot Saturday morning in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Brown, 23, was in the 8700 block of South Houston Avenue when he was shot in the abdomen and leg about 10:20 a.m., authorities said.

Brown, of the 9000 block of South Mackinaw Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 11:38 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Shaquille Ross was shot to death Saturday in the West Englewood neighborhood.

Police found Ross, 18, unresponsive in the street in the 6500 block of South Seeley Avenue about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. He had been shot multiple times in the chest and neck, police said.

Ross, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 8:09 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Scene where Anthony Hobson was shot / Photo by Alex Wroblewski

Anthony Hobson was killed Saturday night in a Roseland neighborhood drive-by shooting.

Hobson, 25, was riding a bicycle in the 10400 block of South Normal Avenue when a silver car drove past and someone inside opened fire about 11:35 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Hobson, of the 10500 block of South Normal Avenue, was shot in the head and shoulder and died at Roseland Community Hospital at 12:07 a.m., authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting was gang related.

Kezon Lamb was killed in an early Sunday shooting in the Uptown neighborhood.

Lamb, 19, was sitting in a vehicle with a female in the 4400 block of North Malden Street when a gunman walked up and opened fire about 12:20 a.m., authorities said.

Lamb, of the 4100 block of West 127th Street in Alsip, was shot in the back died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center at 1:05 a.m., authorities said.

Police said the female in the vehicle was hit by glass, but was not shot.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

A second man had died from an early Friday shooting in the West Englewood neighborhood.

Robbert Cotton, 35, and Corey Hudson, 34, were standing outside in the 2000 block of West 63rd Street when a black vehicle pulled up and someone inside opened fire at 2:37 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Cotton, of the 9600 block of South Mozart Street in Evergreen Park, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he died at 4:47 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Hudson, of the 6000 block of South Bell Avenue, died at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The vehicle drove off after the shooting and nobody has been charged for the murders.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Donald Ray was killed in a Sunday evening shooting that left another man wounded in the Austin community.

Ray, 21, and another man were sitting in a car in the 5200 block of West Lake Street when someone walked up and opened fire about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Ray, of the 2000 block of West Adams Street, was struck in the head and died at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park less than an hour later, authorities said.

The other man, 19, was shot in the right thigh and taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire