Abdul Begawala said his wife awoke early Tuesday morning to the sound of gunshots.
When she went to the window a little after 6 a.m. on May 19, Begawala said his wife saw a young man across the street from their home, lying on the ground on the 9000 block of LaCrosse Avenue in Skokie. He had multiple gunshot wounds.
His mother was standing over him, Begawala recalled his wife recounting to him later that morning, screaming “help, help.”
Begawala, who said he’s lived in Skokie for more than 40 years, hasn’t seen a violent incident like this in his neighborhood in a while.
“Ten years ago there was a gang [in the area], now and then there is fighting and the police will come…but it’s not a scary area for us,” Begawala said.
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“This is a family neighborhood,” he added.
The 21-year-old male, who died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds in Skokie early Tuesday, was later identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Jordan Buelvas. The Skokie Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.
Officers initially responded to a report of a person being shot at about 6:19 a.m. May 19 in the area of LaCrosse Avenue and Grove Street, according to a Skokie Police Department news release.
Skokie police arrived on the scene and found Buelvas with multiple gunshot wounds.
Buelvas was taken by first responders via ambulance to a local hospital for medical treatment, but died from his injuries, police said.
The incident being classified as a homicide, according to Skokie police. Sgt. Brandi Shelton told Pioneer Press a preliminary investigation into the incident indicates that there is no active threat to the public, but declined to comment further.
Shelton also declined to comment on whether a suspect is in custody in relation to the shooting, saying further information could compromise the integrity of the investigation.
The North Regional Violent Crimes Task Force (NORTAF) is being activated to assist the Skokie Police Department in its investigation, per the news release.
Syed Jaffrey, another Skokie resident who has lived in the neighborhood more than 20 years, said he was asleep at the time of the shooting and didn’t hear the gunshots over his air conditioning unit.
But a crime like this makes him question if he should stay in the neighborhood.
“I love this area, it’s not bad. But after that happened, we’ll see,” he said.
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“Everybody is concerned,” Jaffrey said of neighbors he has spoken with since Tuesday about the fatal shooting.
“Safety is first, of course.”