Hispanic male Gregorio Aguilar, 51, was discovered in the predawn cold of November 29, 2016, lying on the 2500 block of North Lavergne Avenue in Chicago's Cragin neighborhood, about a block from his home.
Officers responding to a “person down” call at 1:32 a.m. found the 51-year-old with a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen; he was pronounced dead minutes later, at 1:50 a.m.
The quiet residential stretch where he was found sits on the Northwest Side, a place of alleys, garages, and
streetlights that were still burning when police tape went up.
The Cook County medical examiner determined that the 51-year-old died of multiple gunshot wounds and ruled the death a homicide.
Records noted his residence on the 5000 block of West Deming Street, underscoring how near to home the violence struck.
The scene that morning was standard only in its ritual: squad cars angled across the curb, detectives searching the pavement and guttering leaves for shell casings, and neighbors drawn to their windows as dawn approached.
Authorities released few details in the immediate aftermath. Initial reports contained no description of an assailant and did not announce an arrest; coverage in the hours that followed likewise offered no suspect information beyond the fact that detectives were investigating a fatal shooting on that block.
