Bond Denied for Suspects in Near North Mass Shooting; Court Docs Reveal New Details

Two suspects, including the alleged shooter, charged in connection with a mass shooting that left two people dead and injured seven others in Chicago's Near North neighborhood were ordered held without bail on Sunday.

Chicago police one day earlier announced charges were filed against the two individuals apprehended for Thursday night's shooting.

Jaylun Sanders, of Chicago, is accused of two felony counts of first-degree murder, seven felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The second suspect, Kameron Abram, 20, of Riverdale, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/no FOID card.

About an hour before the shooting, an initial fight occurred between some of the victims and a group that Sanders, the alleged shooter, was a part of, according to prosecutors. A sergeant with the Chicago Police Department heard a gunshot and observed the fight once on scene, according to a bond proffer. However, when the group noticed the sergeant, they fled the area.

At 10:17 p.m., 23 minutes after the first fight, an individual wearing a pink hat and carrying an over-the-shoulder satchel handed a gun to Sanders, as shown on nearby video, according to authorities. The person wearing the pink hat then handed Sanders the gun, who puts it in his waistband, police stated.

Both Sanders, as well as a group that included some shooting victims, remained in the area until 10:40 p.m., according to prosecutors. At that point, as shown on video, Sanders and the other suspect, Abram, approached the nearby entrance to the CTA Red Line, with multiple victims walking on the sidewalk several feet behind their group, according to law enforcement.

Then, when Sanders reached the stairs of the train station, he pulled out the handgun and began firing it in "short bursts," court documents revealed. Sanders, whose weapon was equipped with an auto switch, fired a total of 21 shots, and was seen opening fire at specific targets, authorities said.

Prosecutors said no one in the other group was seen on video holding a gun, reaching for a gun or putting their hands in their pockets. Following the shooting, Sanders, Abram and other members of their group fled into the Red Line station, documents revealed.

Once inside the station, CTA video showed Sanders hand the gun to Abram, who took off his shirt and gave it to Sanders, documents stated. Footage shows the group jump onto the train tracks and cross over to the other side. While
doing so, Sanders’ girlfriend fell onto the third rail and was electrocuted. Someone was able to pull her off, prosecutors said.

Then, Sanders took an elevator up to a middle level where he encountered responding police officers, as revealed in the bond proffer. According to police, Saunders, while holding a black hooded sweatshirt he wore earlier, told police the offender ran in the opposite direction. Sanders is seeing on video putting his hoodie back on, at which point officers realized he was involved in the shooting, authorities said. He then ran down an escalator, onto train tracks and fled into a tunnel before officers were able to take him into custody, police stated. Abram was also located by officers and taken into custody, according to authorities.

At first, Sanders denied being the shooter to police, but after detectives told him they watched the video of the shooting, Sanders stated his cousin gave him the gun and he knew it had an auto switch, court documents stated. Sanders said that he got the gun from Indiana told police that you can get the switch for $20 or $25 on the street. He alleged the other group shot first, but once confronted with the video, he said “they were reaching and he had to do it.” Abram was also interviewed by police, and when asked if Sanders was the shooter, he said “probably,” according to the documents. Abram admitted to possessing the gun after Sanders handed it to him on the train platform, according to prosecutors.