No Gun Found After Fatal Chicago Police Shooting

CHICAGO, IL — A Chicago Police sergeant shot a man to death on the South Side late Wednesday, saying the man twice pointed a weapon at him during a foot chase — but police Thursday have been unable to find a weapon after an extensive search.

The slain man, identified as Kajuan Raye, 19, of south suburban Dolton, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn of a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. The sergeant was responding to a report of a battery in progress in the 1400 block of West 65th Street in Englewood around 11 p.m. He encountered Raye, who matched a description of the attacker, and Raye ran after the sergeant identified himself, according to police.

"There's still many unanswered questions," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told reporters at a 1 p.m. Thursday press conference. "Unfortunately we still don't have a complete synopsis."

The police sergeant reportedly fired his weapon after the second time Raye pointed a gun at him, reports the Chicago Tribune and DNAinfo Chicago.

Police searched the area of 65th Street and Marshfield Avenue with a dog, flashlights, and rakes in what they described as a "grid search" but were unable to find a weapon.

Raye, according to his family, is a high school dropout. He also has a record for theft.

A cousin, Ahkeya White, told the Tribune that Raye was with a friend at a bus stop prior to the shooting and was waiting for a bus to get back home to Dolton. She said he ran when police told him to get into a squad car.

"They are saying that it was, you know, a battery, but if that's the case, the police officer showed up, it was only one person in the car," she told the Tribune. "If they are responding to a call, why is it only one person in the car? Then you pull up to the bus stop. So something is off and we need answers."

Ja'mal Green, a community activist, held a press conference shortly after the superintendent's press briefing was concluded. Green said the officer who fired the fatal shots has been involved in a previous fatal police shooting but Chicago Police could not confirm that, according to WBEZ.