On the late morning of March 12, 2021, Demarcus A. Cokley, a 20-year-old Black male, sat on a porch in the 1800 block of Hovland Court in Evanston when someone approached on foot and opened fire. Three people were struck. Demarcus A. Cokley, male, age 20, and Jose Francisco Sanchez-Guerrero, male, age 21, were transported to Evanston Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival; a third victim, an 18-year-old Evanston resident identified by local reporting as Kyle Wilson, survived his
wounds after treatment. The Cook County medical examiner and police identified Demarcus A. Cokley, male, age 20, as a resident of the 600 block of Lee Street in Des Plaines.
The shooting unfolded just before noon, police logged the call at 11:46 a.m., outside 1811 Hovland Court, about a block from Evanston Township High School, prompting nearby schools to go into a soft lockdown as officers and paramedics swarmed the scene. Responders applied a tourniquet to the surviving 18-year-old male before transporting all three victims to the hospital.
Detectives emphasized that the attack was not a drive-by. Evidence at the scene suggested that the assailant, or assailants, walked up to the porch and fired multiple rounds, with the police chief estimating “upward of 10” shots.
Early updates described a suspect seen fleeing north across Emerson Street, and another report relayed a description of a man in a dark hoodie and gray sweatpants running from the area; initial police briefings also suggested the incident may have been targeted.
By the following day, investigators publicly named the deceased, Demarcus A. Cokley,Black male, age 20, and Jose Francisco Sanchez-Guerrero, male, age 21—and confirmed that no suspects were in custody.
The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force joined Evanston detectives, who asked anyone with information to contact the department. Subsequent local coverage reiterated that a single gunman approached the porch and that, as of those reports, there had been no arrests tied to the case.
In the days that followed, friends and family marked the loss of Demarcus A. Cokley age 20, through memorial pages and fundraisers, describing a young man whose life was cut short in a midday burst of gunfire on a quiet residential block.
