Detectives questioning person of interest in Portage Park triple homicide
Chicago police detectives questioned a person of interest Monday in a triple homicide over the weekend in the Portage Park neighborhood.
No arrests have been made in the shooting that took place around 2:30 a.m. after a brawl inside a bar near Central Avenue and School Street spilled outside, according to Chicago police. There were no further details released on the person of interest.
Officers responded to a call of shots fired and arrived at the intersection where the scene was “chaotic,” according to a police report. There were multiple people shot lying in the street. Ten shell casings were recovered, according to the report.
The gunman fired multiple gunshots that struck four people before fleeing in a dark SUV, police Cmdr. Joseph Brennan told reporters Sunday.
A 50-year-old man was shot in the head and chest and was pronounced dead at the scene. A 26-year-old man and 24-year-old woman were transported with gunshot wounds to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they died, police said.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the victims as Ricky Vera, 50, of an unknown address, Mario Pozuelos, 26, of Franklin Park and Mercedes Tavares, 24, from Chicago Heights.
A 25-year-old woman was shot in the head and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
Brennan provided few details, saying the investigation remained active as detectives canvassed the area for surveillance footage and eyewitnesses.
