CHICAGO — A man in jail on a carjacking charge has now been charged with fatally shooting a man during a botched robbery in Lincoln Square earlier this month.
Julius Flowers, 23, was charged with murder and armed robbery in the slaying caught on video, police said. Police believe Flowers walked up to Rae Park, 59, and tried to rob him Dec. 1 in the 2600 block of West Catalpa Avenue.
At 7:05 a.m. that day, a man got out of a the passenger side of a silver car and walked up to Park, who was near a parked minivan, and tried to rob him. After a brief fight, the man shot Park in his chest and got back into the car which fled the scene, police said.
Park, who lived in an apartment building on the block , was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Park, a member of Chicago’s Korean community, left behind two children and was killed on his daughter’s 23rd birthday, according to a GoFundMe.
Credit: Provided.Flowers was being held in jail charged with a carjacking that happened at 6 a.m. that same day in the 7000 block of North California Avenue in Rogers Park.
In that case, a 47-year-old man was in a Chevy and was approached by two men. One of the men pulled out a gun and pistol-whipped the victim. The men then demanded the victim get out of the car and hand over his belongings, which the victim did, police said.
The men then fled with the car, according to police.
In an email to residents, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) thanked the Chicago Police Department and the 20th Police District team for their investigation that led to charges in Park’s death.
“I am grateful that progress has been made, though it won’t bring Mr. Park back to his family. This holiday season our hearts go out to his loved ones as they continue to grieve their loss,” Vasquez wrote.
