A Chicago man who was charged with attempted murder following a shooting earlier this month in Matteson remains in the Cook County Jail, and may face upgraded charges because the victim has died, Matteson police said.
Zechariah S. Parish was shot in the face Oct. 2 after leaving a home where a group had gathered in the 900 block of Harvard Lane to watch television, Matteson police Chief Mike Jones said. Parish, who was on life support, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn Oct. 12. He was shot once in the face, but Jones said medical staff said the bullet trajectory damaged his spinal cord, resulting in a loss of brain function and neurological responses.
Brian Jackson, 31, of Chicago, was arrested the night of the shooting and is being held without bond on a charge of attempted murder. Police Tuesday were scheduled to testify before a grand jury asking to upgrade the charge to murder, Jones said.
Parish and Jackson did not know each other but were at the same home Oct. 2 when the shooting occurred, Jones said. Witnesses inside the home said there was no altercation between the two men and that Parish was shot outside the home. None of the other six people inside the home was injured.
“He walked out and shot the victim without any provocation and fled the residence,” Jones said.
Within minutes, police received a call from another resident saying there was a man on her porch. When police arrived, they found Jackson, who Jones said later showed officers where he disposed of the 9 mm handgun used in the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, Jackson was on parole for federal weapons charges, Jones said. Police also discovered the 9 mm handgun used in the shooting was stolen from a gun shop in Missouri last year, Jones said.
Parish, who lived in California, was in Matteson visiting family at the time of the shooting.
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“This is pretty tragic for the family,” Jones said.
Jackson initially told police he was kidnapped and had “no choice but to shoot his way out of the house,” Jones said.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.