Uber passenger killed in drive-by shooting on South Side

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - An Uber passenger was killed when he was shot in the head and neck early Monday in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side.

The 34-year-old man was sitting in the back seat of a blue sedan when a light-colored sport utility vehicle pulled up and and someone in that vehicle opened fire about 2:10 a.m. in the 7400 block of South Stony Island Avenue, Chicago Police said.

The man was taken to Jackson Park Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t immediately confirm the death.

Police have recovered shell casings from the scene of the shooting near a gas station and a Jewel-Osco. The Uber driver apparently drove the wounded passenger to the emergency room.

The blue sedan’s rear window was shot out. The car remained at the hospital under police guard this morning.

No one was in custody. Area South detectives are investigating. They were reviewing surveillance video to identify the SUV. Police said they don’t yet know the motive for the shooting.

Kayla Whaling, an Uber spokeswoman, offered condolences following the fatal shooting.

“We are saddened to hear of this horrifying incident and stand ready to provide any information to police for their investigation,” Whaling said in a statement. “We extend our thoughts to all those who are mourning the loss of their loved one.”

On April 11, 2017, a female Uber driver was wounded in the leg in the Armour Square neighborhood on the South Side in a similar drive-by shooting. The passenger was unharmed in that incident.