‘Person of interest’ found on West Side after 20-year-old Skokie man fatally shot, 15-year-old girl wounded at Rosemont fashion outlet mall, officials say

Law enforcement have arrested a person of interest on the West Facet of Chicago just after a masked gunman ‘targeted’ a 20-12 months-previous guy, killing him and wounding at minimum a person other individual, like a 15-12 months-outdated lady at a browsing mall in Rosemont on Friday evening, officials explained.

The two victims were taken to hospitals, where by Joel Valdes, 20 and of Skokie, was pronounced dead at 8:10 p.m., according to the Cook County health-related examiner’s office environment and Rosemont law enforcement.

The gunman, in his mid-20s with a mask covering his confront, opened fire at Valdes at 7:08 p.m. at the Trend Stores of Chicago mall, 5220 Vogue Retailers Way, Rosemont Police Sgt. Joe Balogh said.

Valdes was observed lying on the floor on the first ground south hallway, a quick length from the foods courtroom, soon following officers swarmed the scene. The 15-calendar year-old female, who was shot in the ideal wrist and grazed in the leg, was discovered in a washroom nearby Valdes. Her condition had stabilized.

Previously, officials mentioned there was a 3rd person shot who ran away, but Balogh stated no other victims had been located as of Satuday afternoon in the “isolated incident.”

The shooter fled in a Maroon 2008 Honda with “other unknown subjects,” according to Balogh, but about 9:30 p.m., the Honda was stopped on the eastbound Eisenhower Expressway close to Laramie Avenue. The car’s operator was taken into custody and being questioned as a human being of desire, Balogh said.

A gun was seized at the scene as proof and no expenses have been declared.

As the mall was locked down, evacuated and searched, some individuals, together with consumers, were being trapped within until 11:15 p.m. Officers established up a reunification web page at Caddy Shack restaurant, wherever any individual wanting for pals and family could meet up with, according to Rosemont General public Basic safety.

1 of all those shoppers was Luis Elijio and his family, which include his 5-month-outdated daughter, who were browsing inside the Diplomatic shop on the lessen level of the shopping mall when a girl outdoors of the store abruptly opened the doors of Diplomatic and screamed: “They’re taking pictures!” Elijio stated.

Story continues

“And proper right after that I heard what sounded like an computerized weapon,” Elijio stated while recovering with his relatives in the foyer of the close by Crowne Plaza resort, which is linked to Caddy Shack.

His to start with imagined was his 5-thirty day period-outdated daughter – he needed to make guaranteed she was safe, he mentioned. They all ran to the back again of the shop with the relaxation of the shoppers at Diplomatic when an staff swiftly locked the entrance doorways as men and women ran out of the mall.

Right after dropping her spouse off at O’Hare, Jennifer Dwyer and her 14-calendar year-old son, Aidan, made the decision to go browsing to hold out out the afternoon traffic back dwelling to Naperville, she mentioned.

They were being about to depart the Columbia retail outlet all over 7 p.m., “and then we listened to gunshots,” Dwyer stated. “Like pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, like at the very least 5 or six. Sounded really close.”

Dwyer froze, right until just one manager went about to them and started out yelling, telling them to go to a back again storage area. About 10 shoppers ran into the back room even though the other supervisor locked the doorways.

Though they ended up in the storage area, Dwyer seemed all over for a safer place that would lock soon after learning the storage space didn’t lock. She observed a close by toilet and produced a psychological observe to pull her son in there if a shooter managed to get into the retail store, she claimed.

“And then when we have been in there (in the storage home) I started hunting all around to see if, ‘okay if somebody does occur through those doors, what can I throw,” Dwyer said.

They had been in the storage home a minimal about an hour, until finally a SWAT group went in and advised them to walk out with their hands to their sides.

Just before 10 p.m. Dwyer and her son sat in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza resort waiting for their daughter immediately after they were being informed it wasn’t selected they could get their automobile out of the parking garage Friday night.

“I’m just incredibly grateful that we ended up wherever we were and not any closer to exactly where the capturing was,” Dwyer reported. “It’s unhappy but I am 1 of individuals people today where like when my children were being younger and I would be at a restaurant I would usually kind of figure out wherever the doorways are, exactly where the exits are, form of be organized. But I guess it is sad that which is the culture we reside in.”

An autopsy for Valdes is scheduled for later on Saturday.

rsobol@tribpub.com

[email protected]