The reward for information leading to the capture of a masked gunman who allegedly shot dead two people in Chicago before disappearing, prompting a manhunt, has been upped to $16,000, officials said over the weekend.
The Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives announced the increase of the reward on Oct. 6.
The $16,000 total includes $5,000 from the bureau, $10,000 from the Jewish Federation of Metro Chicago, and $1,000 from Cook County Crime Stoppers.
The masked gunman appeared to be randomly selecting people and killed two in two days, police officers said.
The second was Eliyahu Moscowitz, 24, who was shot in the head while walking on the Loyola Park path near Lunt Avenue.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said police believe the same suspect killed both men, using the same gun.
“The shell casings found at both crime scenes from the 1100 block of West Lunt and the 1400 block of West Sherwin Avenue from Sunday were found to be a match,” Johnson said. “This means both shootings came from the same gun and likely the same suspect.”
Neighbors Scared
The two killings have left neighbors in the area shaken, many of whom knew at least one of the victims.At a meeting several days after the shooting, Sgt. Shawn Sisk, a police officer who patrols the area, told people not to let children walk alone while advising everyone, even men, to walk in pairs or groups.
“When you have situations like this, you have to switch to a different gear. You can’t take safety for granted,” he said. “I can’t guarantee we won’t have another shooting. Nobody can.”
“I am so freaked out,” Kaplan said. She said her fears grew after the second murder. “I knew in a second it was the same person,” she said.