Residents of the Rogers Park neighborhood on the city's Far North Side can expect a heightened police presence after ballistics from the shooting that fatally wounded a man found dead on Chicago's lakefront Oct. 1 matched those found at the scene of another fatal shooting the day before, in that case an elderly gay man who had been out walking his dogs, police and city officials said Oct. 2.
Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson, flanked by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alds. Joe Moore, Harry Osterman and Debra Silverstein, and state Sen. Ira Silverstein, among others, met with media the afternoon of Oct. 2 to discuss the links between the cases.
Twenty-four-year-old Eliyahu Moscowitz was found dead, face down, in Loyola Park on Lunt Avenue in the late evening of Oct. 1; he had been shot in the head. His discovery came just a day after an 73-year-old man, Douglass Watts, was also killed in the same manner just a few blocks away on Sherwin Avenue.
Ballistics at the two murder scenes matched up, Johnson said, adding that police are canvassing the neighborhood and reviewing pertinent surveillance footage at various locations throughout the area.
Moscowitz was a member of the city's Jewish community while Watts was a member of the LGBT community; Johnson said it was too soon to determine whether the episodes were hate crimes, but that investigators "were looking at the possibility." He added that the FBI were also aiding the investigation, but mostly to provide technical assistance not readily available for localities.
CPD released a photograph, taken close to the scene of Watts' murder, of the probable assailant, who they say is a Black male with thin build, wearing what seems to be a ski or ninja mask and dark clothing.
Emanuel said Rogers Park residents should "go about their lives, but be safe and vigilant."
Persons with information about the incident are urged to call Area North Bureau of Detectives at ( 312 ) 744-8200 or ( 312 ) 744-8263, while anonymous tips can be left at tipsoft.com .