A suspect has been charged after prosecutors say he and three other gunmen opened fire during a fight at a service at a Waukegan funeral home, leaving a 22-year-old Gurnee man dead.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday to The Memorial Chapel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 1521 Washington Street, for a shooting.
Two ambulances were dispatched to the scene following reports of shots fired and people shot.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said that officers were already in the area and arrived very fast.
A large fight was reported when the shooting happened in the parking lot of the funeral home.
Video footage showed four gunmen firing shots during the incident, McConnell said.
Paramedics transported an adult male who had been shot to a local hospital in critical condition, according to Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified him as Jorge Rogel, 22, of Gurnee.
Rogel died at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville Wednesday evening while in the intensive care unit.
Banek said an autopsy performed Thursday on Rogel showed he died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head.
Chastain said a second adult male had also been wounded. He was treated at the hospital and has since been released.
A heavy police presence was seen in the area as police investigated at the scene Tuesday evening.
McConnell said the people involved were all family relatives attending a funeral service.
Officers arrested a person of interest and they were being held in custody, Chastain said Wednesday.
Julio Garcia, 31, of Waukegan, was charged Friday with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
Garcia appeared for a First Appearance Court hearing on Friday morning and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.
McConnell said video and evidence at the scene showed that Garcia shot a firearm several times during the incident.
A witness brought the gun to the police and said that another person involved in the shooting had given it to Garcia, McConnell said.
Garcia has a Firearm Owner’s Identification card but no concealed carry license.
Garcia voluntarily went to the police department after the shooting and was taken into custody.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim ordered Garcia held in the Lake County Jail until a detention hearing, which was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Police have not said whether any other suspects are in custody or have been identified.