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Comes from the old neighborhood. This one is going to blow up around here this week.
Southwest Side man charged with murder says he was acting in self-defense after his son was followed from gas station
A Southwest Side man fatally shot a 16-year-old who had “mean-mugged” his son at a gas station, mistaking him for a rival gang member, prosecutors said Sunday.
Steve Kawar, 54, was charged with first-degree murder. His attorney said Sunday that he shot in self-defense.
Judge Susana Ortiz rejected prosecutors’ request to deny Kawar bail, instead holding him on a $350,000 bond and ordering home confinement if he pays.
The incident was set off at a gas station at the corner of 83rd Street and Pulaski Road on Thursday, said Assistant State’s Attorney Carolyn Nevin.
The 16-year-old victim and his friends, members of the Ambrose street gang, saw Kawar’s son at the gas station and thought he was a rival, Nevin said.
They began to “mean-mug” him, giving him intimidating looks, then followed Kawar’s son as he pulled out of the gas station, Nevin said. As they began to pursue him, Kawar’s son called Kawar to tell him that he was being chased, according to prosecutors.
As Kawar’s son was about a block and a half ahead of the pursuing car on 83rd Street, Kawar exited his nearby house with a gun, prosecutors said.
Steve Kawar.
Steve Kawar.(Chicago Police Department/HANDOUT)
The victims’ car was parked for a few seconds before Kawar walked down the middle of the street, and “did not appear to be scared,” according to a nearby Uber driver who witnessed the shooting, prosecutors said.
Kawar walked within 5 feet of the victim’s car, raised his arm and fired, Nevin said. The Uber driver did not hear any argument or gunshots before Kawar fired, and he saw smoke coming from the barrel of Kawar’s gun, Nevin said.
Due to the number of gunshots, it is believed that the people in the car returned fire, Nevin said.
The 16-year-old, who was in the back seat of the car, was shot in the forehead. His friends drove away from the scene. The teen was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
Meanwhile, Kawar picked up several fired cartridge casings from the street before police arrived, Nevin said. Kawar told the Uber driver that he “saw Mexican gangbangers flying down the street,” according to Nevin.
But Kawar told police, in a conversation recorded on a body-worn camera, that he fired in self-defense. And he later told authorities that his son called him about people giving him trouble at a gas station, Nevin said.
Kawar’s son has no gang affiliation and is about to graduate from high school with a full-ride scholarship to the University of Illinois at Chicago, said Kawar’s attorney, Zaid Abdallah.
Kawar has lived in Chicago all his life and works as a union plumber, Abdallah said. The shooting was a case of self-defense, Abdallah said, disputing the assertion that Kawar shot first.
But even if he did, he would still have been justified in opening fire, Abdallah said.
“If they brandished a firearm ... he’d be fully within his right,” he said.
Kawar has medical conditions that would make him more susceptible to COVID-19, Abdallah said, in successfully arguing for the judge to set a bond.
_________________ Frank Coztansa wrote: conns7901 wrote: Not over yet. Yes it is. CDOM wrote: When this is all over, which is not going to be for a while, Trump will be re-elected President.
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