Police announced they have identified a suspect and recovered four guns after a shootout left a 19-year-old man dead and 45 rounds fired, nearly wounding a mother and her children, in Waukegan.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 5:26 p.m. on December 22 to the area of South Park Avenue and Water Street for a report of shots fired.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said a vehicle had been struck by gunfire and officers discovered a male victim who was shot.
Paramedics transported the victim to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
Banek said Thursday that the victim was identified as Christopher Tapia, 19, of Zion. He died from a single gunshot wound.
The Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) was activated and brought officers from surrounding agencies, including the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Park City Police Department, Gurnee Police Department and North Chicago Police Department to help secure the area.
The scene was secured and processed by the Waukegan Police Department’s Major Crime Scene Unit (MCSU).
The vehicle that was hit by gunfire was found to have been struck multiple times, Chastain said.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and the Community Crimes Division (CCD) quickly began investigating the case which led to several leads.
The investigation led detectives to a 27-year-old Waukegan resident, who admitted to firing at Tapia after a confrontation at South Park International convenience store where he claimed he was being shot at, Chastain said.
Officers recovered four handguns during the investigation, including the suspected murder weapon. Two of the guns had “switches” attached, making the guns fully automatic.
Chastain said a total of approximately 45 rounds were exchanged between the two parties.
The investigation further showed that the 27-year-old man was shopping at South Park International convenience store, located at South Park Avenue and Water Street, when Tapia and two others walked into the store.
Chastain said “looks were exchanged” between the group and the 27-year-old man.
Gang-related gestures were made once they were outside of the store.
The 27-year-old man, who lives in the neighborhood, went home and retrieved a gun.
Chastain said gunfire was exchanged from his location and Tapia’s location, which was by the intersection of South Park Avenue and Water Street near their vehicle.
A vehicle with a mother and two children, one of which was an infant, was caught in the crossfire.
Their car was struck multiple times but “miraculously” no one in the vehicle was seriously harmed, Chastain said.
One of the children suffered minor injuries from broken glass. Two nearby residences were also struck by the gunfire.
“Detectives worked swiftly to gather evidence, including interviewing witnesses and conducting neighborhood canvasses,” Chastain said, adding that other subjects of interest were located as well.
The case was presented to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office on December 23 and the office declined to file charges at that time.
The 27-year-old man was released from police custody pending further investigation.
“Our Officers and Detectives did an outstanding job putting this case together in such a short period of time,” Chastain said.
The police department will be conducting further follow-up on the case and it will be screened again with the state’s attorney’s office for potential charges.