Man stabbed to death in road rage incident near Mag Mile, Chicago police say
Family has identified the victim as Jeremy Walker, 36
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Family has identified the man who died after police said he was stabbed in the neck during a road rage incident in River North Tuesday evening.
The family of 36-year-old Jeremy Walker said they can't believe he is gone, and they have no idea what led up to the stabbing.
Witnesses told police they saw Walker pull up to the intersection of Dearborn and Ohio streets around 7:30 p.m. and put his blue Kia in park, according to a police report.
Witnesses told the Sun-Times the victim asked the driver of a black car behind him why he was honking.
The driver of the black car also got out, armed with a knife, police said. Walker fought "to keep the knife away from him" but the attacker "slipped from his grip" and stabbed him in the left side of his neck, investigators said in the police report.
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A witness said he saw three men get out of the black car, and the two drivers were punching each other before the Kia driver pinned the driver of the black car to the ground, and he was stabbed.
After the attack, the knife-wielding man jumped back in his car and sped off northbound on Dearborn.
Walker drove away, too. He eventually flagged down an officer for help near Ohio and Michigan Avenue.
Walker was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
"We believe this was an isolated incident resulting from road rage," Area 3 Deputy Chief Jill Stevens said.
Walker's family said he was working as a food delivery person, but was just days away from starting a new job as a bus driver.
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The police report said some of the attack was caught by a nearby car's camera. The attacker was described in the police report as between 20 and 30, wearing a black baseball cap, a black T-shirt and jeans.
A day later, some of those who work and live in the neighborhood said they want more of a police presence.
"I think having law enforcement visible is a wonderful deterrent," Mateo Mulcahy said.
In an email, Brian Israel, president of the River North Residents Association expressed his concern: "The casual violence of these incidents is terrible, but what's even worse is their frequency. This kind of behavior can't be allowed to become normalized....We understand that extraordinary measures are necessary to respond to extraordinary circumstances."
One woman who lives in River North said it's crimes like this and overall gun violence in the city that have become part of the reason she's leaving Chicago.
"You have to be on edge when you're walking. It's any time of day, and, as a woman, too, you're accosted by homeless people, you're accosted by unsurly people," Vesna Arsic said. "And I can outrun people because I'm an athlete, but I can't outrun bullets."
Chicago police do not have a suspect in custody and an investigation is ongoing.
Sun-Times Media contributed to this report.
