A community activist is holding a press conference Sunday morning to offer an increased reward for information about the killer who allegedly shot and killed two men in separate attacks that started two weeks ago in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
At 11:30 a.m., activist Raul Montes will hold a press conference at 1100 W. Lunt Ave. to raise the reward from $10,000 to an unnamed amount and urge Chicago police to keep blanketing the North Side neighborhood.
“We need more police and a more comprehensive plan, better police strategies and new leadership in Chicago to eradicate the violence and crime that is totally beyond comprehension,” Montes said in a statement.
The first fatal shooting claimed the life of 73-year-old Willard Douglass Watts, who was walking his dogs at 10:07 a.m. Sept. 30 near his home in the 1400 block of West Sherwin when he was shot in the head at close range, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
About 10:20 p.m. the following day, Eliyahu Moscowicz, a 24-year-old man of the Orthodox Jewish faith, was walking on the Loyola Park bike path near Lunt Avenue when someone fatally shot him in the head, authorities said. He lived in West Rogers Park.
At an Oct. 2 press conference, police said the killings were carried out using the same gun, and possibly by the same shooter.
In addition, authorities released surveillance video of the suspect walking near the scene of the first killing. The thin black male is seen in the footage wearing all-dark clothing and a hooded mask.
“This person is clearly trying to disguise themselves,” Johnson said. “Clearly he or she knows what they are going out to do.”
Investigators initially thought Watts was killed during a robbery, but Johnson said nothing had been stolen from either man. Police haven’t identified a potential motive in the slayings, but Johnson didn’t rule out the possibility of a hate crime.
At the same press conference, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told residents to “go about your daily lives, but be safe, smart and vigilant at the same time.”
The Jewish United Fund (JUF) and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago announced the $10,000 reward along with Cook County Crime Stoppers a day after police released the surveillance video and the manhunt entered its third day.
