27-year-old man dies after being shot outside Morse CTA Red Line stop in Rogers Park neighborhood

CHICAGO — One person is dead after a shooting at a North Side CTA stop Sunday night.

As of Monday morning, the search is still on for the gunman who opened fire outside the Red Line stop in the 1300 block of West Morse Avenue, in the Rogers Park neighborhood, killing a 27-year-old man.

According to Chicago police, the man was standing outside around 8:30 p.m. Sunday when an unknown offender fired shots from a black SUV. The man was shot once in the lower back, police say. He was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

The victim’s identity has not yet been released, and the motive for the shooting is unclear. Several people, however, tell WGN he’s a familiar face and frequently hangs out in the area. Nobody is in custody, and police have also not released any description of the suspect or suspects.

WGN was also told a replica gun was recovered from the victim at the scene, but it does not appear the victim was engaged in the shooting.

Investigators were on scene for several hours, canvassing the area and documenting evidence, including shell casings. Gunfire riddled the Morse Red Line station property, with at least three bullet holes visible in the windows of the station lobby, just feet from the turnstiles and the spot where CTA workers sit.

Train service was interrupted for a time but has since resumed as normal.

‘Super close’

Witnesses tell WGN that live music and an outdoor event were going on near the scene at the time of the shooting.

A man who asked to be identified only as “DW” says he was at an area establishment and saw the victim after hearing what he believed were more than a dozen shots. He also said people ran for cover.

“We were all just spellbound,” “DW” said. “You hear this stuff a lot in Rogers Park, but this was super close. By the grace of God, the bullets didn’t come (our) way.

“… There was an older woman here, apparently she knew (the victim). She was crying, and I just embraced her. It’s sad.”

Longtime area resident James Schweitzer says he was also out at the time of the shooting, playing pool at a nearby bar.

“Then all of a sudden, rapid-fire, it just sounded like more than one gun,” Schweitzer said.

Area resident Matt Schrock said it sounded like a “pop-pop-pop,” but that “you knew it’s not fireworks.”

“You’re wondering, ‘Are bullets going to start coming through, or not?'” Schrock said.

This is the third deadly shooting in the same area since the start of the year.

In the late-morning hours of April 9, two men were shot outside in Rogers Park, including a 33-year-old who died from his injuries. In May, two suspects were charged with first-degree murder in that deadly shooting.

Another fatal shooting happened in the area just a month before that, on March 12, when a 21-year-old man was shot and killed while standing on the corner near Glenwood and Greenview avenues.

“I think we all feel that in the community,” Schrock said. “If somebody experience a loss, we all do.”

Perhaps one of most devastating incidents that still lingers in the minds of area residents is the 2017 shooting in which a stray bullet hit and killed Cynthia Trevillion, a 64-year-old teacher, in Rogers Park.

“That was very upsetting,” Schweitzer recalled. “That was, I think, the first incident of a killing.”

WGN has also reached out to the 49th Ward’s alderwoman, Maria Hadden, who has previously expressed concern after other acts of violence in the area.

Anyone with information on Sunday night’s fatal shooting can call Area Three detectives.

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