Authorities: Chicago teen wanted in Rosemont mall shooting
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a man wanted in the Rosemont mall shooting last week that left another man dead and a teenage girl wounded.
The Rosemont Public Safety Department on Tuesday identified the suspect as Jose G. Matias, 18, of Chicago and said a nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Authorities did not specify if they believe the suspect has fled the immediate area, or where he might be.
Officials from the department said they came to identify Matias based on interviews, witness statements and a review of surveillance video from the shooting last Friday night at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. Police said "numerous" witnesses helped identify Matias as the shooter.
Matias is considered armed and dangerous, Rosemont authorities said. No other warrants have been issued, they added.
Police said Tuesday the shooting just after 7 p.m. Friday stemmed from an argument between Matias and 20-year-old Joel Valdes of Skokie, who died from multiple gunshot wounds. They added that the two did not know each other.
It was near the food court that Matias is observed on surveillance video pulling out a firearm and shooting in the direction of Valdes, authorities said.
After receiving treatment at the scene from officers and paramedics, Valdes was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he died about an hour later.
A second victim, a 15-year-old girl, was shot once near the right wrist and also was grazed in the leg. Police on Tuesday identified her as an innocent bystander and said she has since been released from Lutheran General and is recovering at home.
After the shooting, authorities say, Matias left the mall in a maroon 2008 Honda. The vehicle was later located by Cook County sheriff's police in Bellwood.
Rosemont authorities said they received assistance from the Major Case Assistance Team and a number of surrounding law enforcement agencies in investigating numerous leads surrounding the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at (224) 585-2865.