Larry Cox, a 56-year-old African American male from Evanston, Illinois, died on January 26, 2019, from a pulmonary embolism, which the Cook County medical examiner's office determined was a complication resulting from gunshot wounds he sustained on December 30, 2018. The incident occurred in the 2000 block of Wesley Avenue in Evanston. The Evanston police have classified the shooting as a homicide. Despite the severity of the case, no arrests have been made, and the police have not disclosed whether they have identified any suspects or persons of interest. The authorities have described the shooting as an isolated incident, posing no threat to the general public.
Larry Cox had a troubled past, having been involved in a significant criminal case in 1997. He was convicted for the shooting death of Wayne Hoffman, a 13-year-old African American boy, in Evanston. Hoffman was killed while fixing a light outside his aunt's house just days before his eighth-grade graduation. Cox, along with another man, was charged with first-degree murder in Hoffman's death. The incident stemmed from a minor dispute earlier that day, which escalated when Cox and his accomplice returned to the scene with a .22-caliber rifle and fired into a group of people, unintentionally hitting Hoffman. Cox pleaded guilty to the murder in 2001 after his first trial ended in a hung jury and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Cox's criminal history extended beyond this tragic event. He had been in and out of prison since 1984 on various charges, including burglary and illegal possession of a credit/debit card. He was released on parole in February 2018, less than a year before his death. The Evanston police have not commented on Cox's previous encounters with law enforcement, focusing instead on the investigation into his recent shooting.
The investigation into Larry Cox's death remains open, with the police continuing to seek information that could lead to the identification and apprehension of the shooter. The community, still reeling from the violence that claimed Hoffman's life years earlier, is once again confronted with the aftermath of a senseless act of violence. The authorities have urged anyone with information to come forward to help bring justice to Cox and his family.
