Shooting of Justin Murray May Be Gang-Related, Police Say

Evanston police say there are indications that gang members could be involved in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Justin Murray on Thursday night. 

“We do believe there’s indicators that it has ties to gang involvement, but there’s no indicators that the victim, specifically, is a gang member,” Evanston Police Cmdr. Jason Parrott told Patch. “That information’s based on the way the incident happened and the company of the suspects that the victim was with.” 

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Police found Murray lying in the grassy area between the curb and the sidewalk in front of . Witnesses saw and heard two offenders fire several shots from behind a fence two houses north of 1818 Brown Ave. Murray was shot twice around 6:15 p.m., according to Parrott, and was taken to Evanston NorthShore University HealthSystem, where he was pronounced dead. 

Earlier: Brown Avenue Shell-Shocked After Fatal Shooting

Murray was with several other people when he was died, Parrott said, and police are still trying to determine whether he was the target or whether someone else he was with was the target of the shooter.

Approximately 55 minutes after Murray was shot, witnesses reported that someone fired shots at a parked car in the 2300 block of Greenwood Street, approximately one mile south of the block where Murray died. Parrott said no witnesses had come forward so far to tell police that they had been shot during the second incident.

“At this time, there’s nothing to tie the two incidents,” he said. 

As of Friday night, police continued to investigate the crime and had not taken anyone into custody as a suspect. Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the detective bureau at 847-866-5040 or to use the Text-A-Tip system by texting any tip information and the word “EPD TIP” to the number CRIMES (274637).