Police: Accused killer of 3 posted social media rants
CHICAGO >> A man who police say killed three people and wounded four others during a series of shootings in and around Chicago posted nonsensical and expletive-laced 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 32-yearold Jason Nightengale apparently chose his victims at random. Police killed Nightengale in a shootout just north of the city about four hours after authorities say he shot his first victim in the head in a South Side parking garage.
Those killed included a 30-year- old University of Chicago student from China named Yiran Fan, Anthony Faukner, 20, and Aisha Nevell, 46, a security guard. Wounded were a 77-year-old woman, 81-year- old woman and a 15-year- old 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 because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation confirmed it was Nightengale in the video.
He posted dozens of other short videos, including several in the hours before the first attack, which were viewable until the page was taken down Sunday.
In one, he says, “I’m going to blow up the whole community.” In another, Nightengale appears to groove to the Bee Gee’s “Stay ing A live” while laughing.
Evanston police Sgt. Ken Carter said Nightengale appeared to have a connection to Evanston, but he did not have further details. He said Sunday that an outside agency would take over the investigation since Evanston police were involved in the fatal shooting.
Chicago police released an October 2018 booking photo of Nightengale that was taken after he was charged with multiple driving-related offenses, including driving on a suspended license. His criminal record started in 2005 and included arrests for gun and drug violations, aggravated assault, and a 2019 domestic battery case, according to WLS-TV.
An attorney for Nightengale couldn’t be located Sunday.