Crime & Law
No Bail For Suspect in West Garfield Park Shooting That Wounded 3-Year-Old Boy
A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)
A Chicago man allegedly fired more than a half dozen shots into a vehicle carrying a woman and her 3-year-old son, striking the boy once near his eye, as they parked outside their West Garfield Park home last month.
Andy Wallace, 35, was held without bail during a hearing Friday following his arrest on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm stemming from the Feb. 22 shooting.
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis, a 28-year-old woman who had been driving with her young son was parking her Audi in the 4500 block of West Congress Parkway across the street from their home.
Before she could get out of her vehicle, a white SUV pulled up alongside it. Kalliantasis said Wallace then leaned out of a rear passenger door and began firing a black handgun into the victims’ vehicle multiple times before the SUV sped away.
The woman saw that her son had been struck by a bullet near his left eye and immediately took him to Stroger Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to remove a bullet fragment.
Police officers recovered seven .40 caliber shell casings from the shooting scene, according to Kalliantasis, and while canvassing the area, they also learned Wallace may have been the shooter.
According to Kalliantasis, the victim’s mother recognized Wallace as “someone she knows from the neighborhood” and was able to immediately pick him out of a photo lineup hours after the shooting.
While the mother was not shot, police later recovered another bullet fragment that she found in her clothing after she discovered her sweater had two bullet holes in it, Kalliantasis said.
Officers located Wallace Thursday and placed him under arrest. During Friday’s hearing, his public defender took issue with the state’s case, saying there was no evidence tying his client to the case other than the victim’s mother’s identification.
Wallace is due back in court March 23.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
