Joliet Police Look For Gunman Who Killed Man, 25, On Jefferson Street

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department is investigating an early morning shooting that claimed the life of a 25-year-old man. The incident occurred at 12:52 a.m. in the 1500 block of West Jefferson Street, police said. The victim was driven to Presence Saint Joseph's Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:17 a.m.

According to Deputy Chief Edgar Gregory, the homicide victim and another person were parked in a business parking lot facing west when an unknown male started firing several gunshot rounds at their vehicle, a four-door 2013 Chrysler 200. The shooter was apparently standing on the sidewalk in the 100 block of Woodlawn Avenue. Several rounds of bullets were fired into the vehicle through the front passenger-side window and door, Gregory said.

The victim was in the driver's seat. He was shot once in the head, Gregory indicated. The vehicle's owner, a 26-year-old man, was sitting in the passenger seat and was not struck with any gunfire. The shooter immediately fled, heading northbound.

From there, the 26-year-old moved the shooting victim, who was unconscious, out of the driver's seat and drove to the nearby hospital. The victim died from his injuries at the hospital, police said. His name has not been released yet.

According to Gregory, police detectives are in the process of gathering possible video surveillance footage of the shooting. Police are asking people who may have been in the area during the time frame of the homicide to call the investigations division at 815-724-3020.