» Gang ties:
Sheriff says Drag away victims gang members
The three men shot to death at point-blank range Sunday night at Great Lakes Dragaway were gang members from Illinois, authorities said.
The three men shot to death at point-blank range Sunday night at Great Lakes Drag away were gang members from Illinois, authorities said Monday.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said the victims’ gang affiliation leads authorities to suspect the shocking slayings were gang-related. The killings happened during an event that drew 15,000 people to the popular drag racing strip near Union Grove.
Authorities were still searching for the shooter.
“I don’t know who the suspect was or his motivation. It appears he walked up to the three that are now dead and basically just shot them point blank,” Beth said at a news conference at the drag strip.
“He knew what his targets were. A third man ran around the side of the tent and he shot him and then returned to fire multiple shots into (the other two victims lying on the ground.) He had the arrogance to know that they were dead,” Beth said.
Killed were David L. Watson, 30, of Oswego, Ill.; Khalid R. Howard, 30, of Aurora, Ill.; and Derek K. Edwards, 26, of North Aurora, Ill. Edwards and Howard died at the scene while Watson died in an ambulance on the way to a local hospital.
The suspect was described as a black man, 20 to 30 years old, approximately 5-foot-9inches tall, thin, athletic build and shaved hair on the sides but scruffy on top.
Witnesses gave conflicting information about his clothing, and he was seen running from the scene before leaving in a vehicle. Officials did not provide a description of the vehicle.
The murder weapon was a pistol, although authorities are unsure of the caliber. It was not recovered at the scene.
Graphic cellphone video posted on Facebook shows two of the victims lying on the ground next to a blue open-air tent serving food adjacent to coolers and grills. Someone placed napkins over the faces of the victims who were clad in blood-spattered shorts and Tshirts.
Family members of the victims have not been helpful to authorities, the sheriff said. Authorities had difficulty identifying them and when a man who arrived at the Sheriff’s Department identified himself as a father of one of the victims, he refused to provide his son’s birth date and made demands of the department that were denied. The sheriff declined to elaborate on the father’s demands.
The three victims were known to Aurora, Ill., police, officials said. Beth said the father of one of the victims is a high-ranking gang member from Illinois, and gang squad law enforcement members there confirmed the victims were gang members. The sheriff declined to identify the gang.
It took quite awhile to evacuate the chaotic scene Sunday night, and sheriff’s deputies remained at Great Lakes Dragaway throughout the night to preserve evidence across a large area.
Larry’s Fun Fest was described as a familyfriendly event that included a car show, drag racing and tailgating with people bringing barbecues and picnics. A private security firm worked the event, but there was no screening of spectators for weapons.
“The whole goal of this was to get a group of people from Illinois and Chicago to come up here and race. When I was here, there were families, people of all ages. The attempt was to give people who don’t normally come here a chance to have fun,” said Beth.
Beth said he didn’t know why Great Lakes Dragaway was chosen by the shooter to kill the three men or how the suspect knew the victims would be at Larry’s Fun Fest.
“Our detectives have not found anything to say why this was the spot where it occurred. I’m sure the suspect would know. I don’t know if this is retaliation or a family trouble,” said Beth.