Gunman who killed 3 in rampage fatally shot by police

CHICAGO — A man who police say killed three people and wounded four others during a shooting spree in and around Chicago posted nonsensical and expletivelaced videos in the days and hours leading up to the attacks.

Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine a motive for the Saturday afternoon attacks in which police say 32yearold Jason Nightengale, 32, apparently chose his victims at random. Police killed Nightengale in a shootout just north of the city about four hours after authorities say he fatally shot his first victim in the head in a South Side parking garage.

Those killed included a University of Chicago student from China, Yiran Fan, 30, a 20yearold man and a 46yearold security guard. Wounded were a 77yearold woman, 81yearold woman and a 15yearold girl, according to Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. Another woman was shot in the neck in Evanston, police in the suburb said.

Authorities didn’t release many details about Nightengale, a Chicago man whose LinkedIn page listed work over the years as a janitor, security guard and forklift operator. But a series of disturbing videos posted to Facebook over two years under Nightengale’s middle name, Oliver, offered clues as to his state of mind.

In one posted Thursday, Nightengale held a gun to the camera and muttered unintelligible statements as he appeared to be driving. A police official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed it was Nightengale in the video.

The shootings began around 2 p. m. Saturday with the killing of Fan, who was shot in the head while sitting in his car in a parking garage in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Brown said.

After that, Nightengale “just randomly” walked into an apartment building a block away, where he fatally shot the female security guard and the 77yearold woman, who was getting her mail, Brown said.

From there, Nightengale went to a nearby building and stole a car from a man he knew. He then opened fire at a convenience store, killing the 20yearold man and wounding the 81yearold woman in the head and neck. The woman was in critical condition.

After leaving the store,

Nightengale shot a 15yearold girl who was riding in a car with her mother, leaving the girl in critical condition.

Nightengale drove north to Evanston, fired inside a CVS without hitting anyone, then went across the street to an IHOP restaurant, where he shot a woman in the neck. She was in critical condition.

Nightengale left the restaurant, was confronted by officers in a parking lot, and died in a shootout, said Evanston Police Chief Demitrous Cook said.