Chicago police Wednesday said a Chicago man suspected of killing a 4-year-old boy by firing a shotgun blast through the window of his brother’s Brighton Park apartment during a drunken dispute over money may have fled to Oklahoma.
Police and prosecutors were attempting to get a judge’s signature on a warrant for the man they suspect in the murder Tuesday of Enrique Mendujano. Investigators said they were contacting authorities in Oklahoma City where the man has relatives and may be hiding out.
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Sources said investigators had learned through phone records that he may be staying in that city.
Wentworth Area Cmdr. Frank Trigg said police had recovered a shotgun from the scene but still consider the suspect armed and dangerous. As police continued their search, relatives and friends of the victim and suspect grappled with the absurdity of the quarrel that lead to Enrique’s death.
“The boy didn’t do anything,” said Jose de la Torre, who cradled Enrique in his arms on the back porch of the home as the boy died of a head wound.
“I tried to keep him alive and his body was still warm,” he said. “I can still see him. I prayed that [help] would arrive soon. … I prayed for him to live.”
Enrique’s mother had gone to work earlier in the evening. Jose de la Torre and his friend offered to watch over the boy and bring him to an apartment in the 2900 block of West 38th Street.
Two brothers, who police said had been drinking, were looking over their tax forms when one brother spotted the other’s income and began needling his brother about making so little money even though he had learned English and become a U.S. citizen.
As the two began quarreling, de la Torre stepped between them and stretched out his arms to keep them from attacking each other. It worked, but only for a moment. De la Torre said one of the brothers left and returned with a shotgun but was unable to get back into the apartment.
Unable to get inside, the angry brother allegedly lifted the shotgun, pressed it against a back porch window and fired. The shot, which cut a small round hole in the window, sprayed inside the porch and struck Enrique in the head.
Police said it was possible that the window blinds were down and that the suspect did not immediately know the boy had been shot.
But de la Torre said the man finally got into the apartment and learned what had happened.
“He saw the boy and I think when he saw him he tried to escape,” de la Torre said.