A person of interest is in custody after two men were shot, one fatally, during a shooting next to Poppy’s restaurant in Waukegan Sunday evening, police said.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 5 p.m. Sunday to the 1500 block of Washington Street for a report of a shooting.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said officers located two victims that had been shot.
Police placed evidence markers and crime scene tape in the parking lot of Poppy’s restaurant and just south of the intersection at Washington Street and Washington Park.
A black Chevrolet pickup truck appeared to have been struck by bullets.
Both victims were males in their 20s from Waukegan.
The two men were transported by ambulance to area hospitals.
One victim was pronounced dead at the hospital and the second victim underwent surgery and is recovering, Florip said.
The deceased victim’s identity will be released once an autopsy has been completed on Tuesday.
Florip said that numerous witnesses identified a light-colored sedan, possibly a BMW, fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed as officers were investigating the scene.
Waukegan officers located the BMW sedan around 7:45 p.m. as it was driving in the area of Green Bay Road and Wadsworth Road in Beach Park.
The BMW fled from police as officers tried to stop it.
Officers pursued the BMW and it eventually came to a stop in the area of Sheridan Road and Franklin Street with a flat tire.
The driver of the BMW, a 19-year-old Waukegan resident, was taken into custody and identified as a person of interest in the shooting, Florip said.
Investigators believe that the BMW was the suspect vehicle that fled the shooting scene earlier in the day.
The Waukegan Police Department Criminal Investigations Division (CID) was called to investigate the case.
Florip said the CID is following up on multiple interviews, investigative leads and people of interest.
Charges have not been filed against anyone yet.
Florip said the victims in the shooting were believed to have been specifically targeted but the exact motive is still being investigated.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Waukegan Police Department tip line at 847-360-9001.