A teen suspected of being a serial murder attacked everyday people seemingly at random, city officials announced Wednesday.
Antonio Reyes, now 21, shot and killed his victims while they were going about their typical daily activities, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said at a news conference flanked by city officials including Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling.
“None of these people had ever met Antonio Reyes before and there’s no reason to suspect Antonio Reyes had any reason to target them,” Burke said. “One victim was killed when he went to the gas station to buy a pop . . . Another victim was sitting in a parked car with a friend on Palm Sunday afternoon . . . Another victim’s only crime was taking his family to buy a new puppy one afternoon.”
Reyes is charged with six counts of murder. The deadly assaults all happened in 2020 on the city’s Southwest Side. He was also charged with four counts of attempted murder.
Three of the attempted murder victims were children between ages 3 and 9, Snelling said.
“It’s sad,” Burke said. “It’s sad to think about a 17-year-old committing serial murders over the course of nine months.”