Accused Shooter Says He Thought Feds Were Rival Gang Members: ATF

UPDATED 6 p.m.

CHICAGO — A 28-year-old Chicago man accused of shooting three police officers told law enforcement he thought they were rival gang members, according to federal complaint.

Eugene McLaurin, 28, is charged with one count of using a dangerous and deadly weapon to assault a special agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain ordered McLaurin to be detained during a court hearing that was conducted by phone Thursday afternoon.

Around 5:50 a.m. Wednesday, two special agents from the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency, and a Chicago police task force officer were riding together in an unmarked police vehicle while on an undercover investigation on Chicago’s South Side.

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The officers noticed they were being followed by a white Chevrolet Malibu, and recorded the license plate number. As the unmarked police vehicle entered the on-ramp to Interstate 57 at 119th Street, the feds said the driver of the Malibu, a black male with a “twist” hairstyle and wearing a black shirt, pulled up next to the police vehicle. A man, later identified as McLaurin, opened fire, wounding all three officers, according to the federal complaint.

The injured officers drove for help to the 22nd District Chicago Police station about a mile away on Monterrey Street. All three suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds. They were treated and released from Advocate Christ Medical Center later in the day.

After the shooting, a white Chevy Malibu was found parked in the 200 block of East 89th Street, where officers said they observed two Hormady 9mm shell casings near the driver’s seat. Three similar Hormady shell casings had been recovered at the shooting scene.

Information provided by Chicago police stated that an officer spotted a man with a similar hairstyle and wearing a black shirt in the back yard of the house next to where the Malibu was parked. The officer watched the man go into the house.

Around 7:15 a.m., law enforcement knocked on the door of the house. Another person answered the door. Moments later, the person asked McLaurin to leave the house, the complaint said.

Law enforcement said that McLaurin was no longer wearing the black shirt and appeared “nervous and sweaty.” McLaurin allegedly told police that he was with his girlfriend when the shooting happened, and had just been dropped off at the house before police arrived.

An ATF agent took a picture of McLaurin, which was texted to one of the injured officers. The officer said the hairstyle was the same, but could not positively identify him as the alleged shooter, the complaint said. McLaurin was taken to the police station for questioning.

During the interview, McLaurin told police that he was driving in the area of 118th Street and Normal Avenue, when he started following a white Chrysler 300, the make and model of the ATF vehicle, the complaint said. Shown a surveillance image of the white Malibu, the feds said McLaurin identified it as the car he was driving.

According to the complaint, McLaurin started following the Chrysler because he believed it was being drive an “opps,” a street term for rival gang members. McLaurin told police that the day before, a friend told him there was a white Chrysler 300 surveying the area.

The feds alleged that, eventually, McLaurin admitting to using a Glock 9mm pistol to shoot at the ATF vehicle. McLaurin said he purchased the gun for his “personal protection” a few months before, the complaint said.

After allegedly shooting at the ATF vehicle, the feds said that McLaurin told them he dumped the Glock into a drain. He then drove the Malibu to the house on 89th Street. According to the complaint, when police arrived, McLaurin told them the keys to the Malibu were in his bedroom. Police eventually found the keys in a dryer vent, the complaint said. Law enforcement said they also found three black T-shirts and mail addressed to McLaurin in his bedroom.

During a news conference Thursday afternoon, assistant U.S. attorney John Kocoras would not comment whether it was possible for McLaurin to mistake the ATF agents and Chicago cop for rival gang members.

Officials also would not answer questions if other people were involved in the shooting, based on an earlier report by the Chicago Sun-Times that at least two suspects were being questioned in connection to the shootings.

According to the Chicago Tribune, McLaurin had previously been found guilty of charges including having street-gang contact while on parole, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and drug delivery, dating back to 2013 or 2014. In March 2015, McLaurin was convicted of aggravated unlawful use of weapon and received a three-year prison sentence.

Chicago police took McLaurin into custody at 8:33 a.m., and was transferred to federal custody at 11:03 a.m. Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported. The charge against McLaurin carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact police or submit a tip anonymously at CPDTIP.com.