A south suburban woman faces murder charges in the shooting death of a 28-year-old man walking outside his Lincoln Park home, Chicago police announced Thursday.
Police arrested Josalyn Fowler, 25, of Thornton, on Tuesday in the 500 block of Chicago Road in Thornton. Police said she participated in the fatal shooting of Kevin Patel on April 16 in the 800 block of West Lill Avenue.
Officers responded to a call of a person shot shortly before 9:30 p.m. and found Patel on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.
Patel’s brother described him as “intelligent, kind, caring and loving to anyone he met” in a GoFundMe. He said Patel “always looked for the best in people” and “had a positive influence” on those in his life, adding that his “bright future was cut short due to the unlawful and senseless acts committed by others.”
Ald. Timmy Knudsen, 43rd, said in a statement that he wanted to thank community members who provided “crucial camera footage” and officers for their “around-the-clock work.”
“My number one priority has always been keeping our community safe and obtaining the resources necessary to do so,” Knudsen said. “This incident comes at a moment where our community has experienced gradual decreases in crime over the past few years — and is proof of the aggressive work we need to continue to do as a city and state to get guns off of the streets and to prosecute offenders.”
Fowler pled guilty to unlawful use of a weapon in 2022, according to court records. Her initial court appearance is scheduled for Friday.