No Murder Charges As Victim Was Shot By Own Gun, Detectives Believe

EVANSTON, IL — The 25-year-old man who was killed on Howard Street in the early morning hours of Aug. 14 was fatally shot by his own handgun, investigators believe. According to police, Hamza Hammouis, a newlywed and recent immigrant from Paris, got into an argument with Gary E. Johnson near the intersection of Howard Street and Chicago Avenue around 2:45 a.m. Neither man had met the other before, and the fight soon became physical, police said.

As it escalated, Johnson grabbed a gun Hammouis had brought with him and shot him in the head, according to police. Hammouis' gun had been obtained legally through a relative, and detectives were unable to determine what prompted the confrontation.

Johnson was arrested on Aug. 18 and charged with multiple firearm offenses, including unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and two misdemeanors after he was allegedly found in possession of an unlicensed gun. Evanston Police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan identified the gun found in Johnson's possession as a Glock, apparently the same type of gun shown held by a masked man in posts made to Hammouis' Facebook page before his death.

After interviewing witnesses and reviewing the investigation, attorneys with the Cook County State's Attorney's Felony Review Unit declined to approve any further charges for Johnson, Dugan said. A spokesperson for the prosecutors' office referred all questions to the arresting agency.

But Hammouis' family members and his widow, Jennifer Hess, are not satisfied with the decision of Kim Foxx's office.

"[We] are all very upset and disgusted that Cook County's politics are more important than actually finding justice in the murder of an innocent person," Hess told Patch. "We are not willing to allow this to be the final decision made." Both she and Hammouis' sister identified Johnson in a photo lineup, she said.

"I saw with my own eyes when he had Hamza defenseless and in a headlock with a gun to his head and pulled the trigger," she said, noting Johnson weighs 60 pounds more than her husband. "But according to the State's Attorney, my husband's killer can claim self defense and they'll accept that."

Hess said the family has made contact with the French and Moroccan consulates who are also "concerned about the United States taking responsibility" for the death of a visiting citizen from their country and handling the case properly. Hammouis, a dual citizen of France and Morocco, had been living in Chicago for less than a month after getting married on June 6.

On the night of his death, Hammouis and his American wife had been hosting his three younger sisters, who were in town from Paris, Hess said. The newlywed couple lived less than a block away from the crime scene and had stepped out for a walk with one of Hammouis' sisters at he time of the shooting. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Hess said the man she identified as Johnson approached her husband and began harassing him in a menacing tone, and she had no idea why. She explained she tried to step in and tell the man her husband was not fluent in English but was ignored by Johnson.

Johnson is currently being held at Cook County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond on one charge of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office. His next court appearance is set for Sept. 15.

» Read more: Police investigate the shooting death of 25-year-old Hamza Hammouis

_{Top photo: Scene of the fatal Aug. 14 shooting on Howard Street in Evanston | Jonah Meadows}