BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Police shot at – but did not wound – a man they saw running away from a fatal shooting near a nightclub on the Near North Side early Sunday.
The fatal shooting occurred on the block of nightclub Bodi at 873 N. Orleans St. Rapper Nas was scheduled to host a party at the club following his Saturday Lollapalooza performance, according to the club’s website.
Police said officers were on patrol in the area when they heard gunshots about 3:50 a.m. Officers tried to “engage” a man who was fleeing scene, but failed to stop him, according to a police spokeswoman. An officer fired his gun at the man, but did not hit him, police said.
Martrell Ross, 32, of the 300 block of South Mozart Street, was found dead in a nearby alley with a gunshot wound in his abdomen, authorities said.
A 21-year-old man was also shot in the chest and taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.
A spokesman for the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates police-involved shootings, said the agency is not conducting an investigation of the officer’s use of force because he did not strike the man he fired at.
A representative of the club could not be reached for comment.
Another Lollapalooza performer, Big Boi of the duo Outkast, also played in the neighborhood Saturday night. He performed at Parliament nightclub near Chicago Avenue and Orleans Street, about a block south of Bodi.
From the stage at Lollapalooza, Big Boi had lamented recent violent incidents at Lollapalooza and in the city, declaring:
“I know there’s been some trouble in Chicago — gotta put those guns down and crunk with some herb.”
-- Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire