Gunman Killed By Evanston Police After Shooting Spree In Chicago

Evanston IL

09 January, 2021

9:58 PM

Description

EVANSTON, IL — A shooting spree that started on the South Side of Chicago Saturday afternoon ended in a shootout with Evanston police, police said. Jason Nightengale, 32, of Chicago, shot seven people, killing at least three, before he was fatally shot by officers on Howard Street, according to Chicago and Evanston police. Over a nearly four-hour period, Nightengale opened fire seemingly at random — striking victims in an an apartment building lobby, a car and two stores. Police said he also carjacked an acquaintance and fired shots into a Chicago Police Department vehicle before driving north and taking a woman hostage in Evanston. Police said they recovered this pistol after it was used by a hostage-taker and suspected spree shooter who died in a shootout with officers Saturday on Howard Street. (Evanston PD) The first shooting took place shortly after 1:45 p.m. in the 5300 block of South East End Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Police said Nightengale went into a parking garage and shot and killed a 30-year-old sitting in a car. The victim was later identified as a University of Chicago student. Around 2 p.m., Nightengale walked into an apartment building lobby in the 4900 block of South East End Avenue. After asking to use a phone, he fatally shot a security guard and critically wounded a 77-year-old woman who was getting her mail at the time, according to police. Nightengale next headed to an apartment building in the 5000 block of South East End where he took the elevator upstairs and encountered someone he knew, pushed him into his apartment at gunpoint and demanded the keys to his car. One of Nightengale's relatives is thought to have lived in the building, according to Chicago Police Supt. David Brown. Police said Nightengale then drove to a convenience store in the 9300 block of Halsted Street, walked into a convenience store around 3:45 p.m. and announced he was robbing it. Inside, police said he fatally shot a 20-year-old man and critically wounded an 81-year-old woman. Around 5 p.m., Nightengale opened fire on a car in the 10300 block of South Halsted Street, striking a passenger, a 15-year-old girl, in the head, according to police. She was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in critical condition. The gunman returned to the convenience store a few minutes later and fired shots at the crime scene, police said. At least one of the shots struck a Chicago police vehicle. Police said Nightengale next headed north. Around 5:45 p.m., Evanston police got a call of gunfire inside the CVS on Asbury Avenue. The shooter fled out of the store and across the street into the IHOP restaurant, where he briefly took a woman hostage before shooting her in the head, police said. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition Saturday night. Despite reports that she had died, authorities said she remained in critical condition as of Sunday morning. Nightengale fled east and south across Howard Street in Chicago and died following a shootout with Evanston police in the parking lot of the Dollar General, 2341 Howard St. "This goes to show these police officers come out here and put their life on the line every day, and it's my intention to have the Evanston police officers do a good job ever time they do it," Evanston Police Chief Demitrous Cook said. "We want good, clean and transparent police." Officers exchanged gunfire with an armed man who fled an IHOP into the parking lot of a Dollar General store on Howard Street Saturday night, according to police. (NorthShoreUpdates) In the days before his death, Nightengale posted a series of brief and mostly nonsensical videos on social media, some of which contained threats of violence. "Check this out: I'm going around giving [people] blessings and [people] death sentences at the same time. Depending on who it is," he said Saturday. "The ones that really love me or not." In one video he brandishes a pistol. "I'm going to just blow up the whole community," he says in another. In another, he talks about plotting a carjacking. "I'm looking for somebody by themselves, walking to their car. It might be this guy. I might jack his ass," he said. "No, he looks like a problem for me." Police said Jason Nightengale, 32, shot at least seven people Saturday in Chicago and Evanston before he was fatally shot by police. (Chicago Police) This is a developing story, check back for updates