Nephew of police spokesman fatally shot in Markham

The nephew of a spokesman for multiple suburban police department was killed in a shooting that also wounded his girlfriend in front of their newborn child Tuesday evening in south suburban Markham.

Joshua Wright, 18, was gunned down in a parked car with his family, according to a statement from his uncle Sean Howard, a spokesman for Harvey police and other suburban police departments. Wright had just gotten out of work, and they were waiting for a friend to leave their house in the 16200 block of Winchester Avenue.

As they waited, an SUV pulled up alongside and someone inside fired at least 13 bullets, according to Howard.

Wright was shot in the head and pronounced dead at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Howard said. His girlfriend was shot in the arm and treated at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The baby was uninjured.

An autopsy Wednesday found Wright died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled a homicide.

Markham police could be seen investigating the shooting about 7 p.m. Tuesday and placed multiple evidence markers around the car.

“I’ve been a police spokesman for over 16 years, but today was a reality check for me and my family,” Howard said in the statement. “Today I became the victim that I’ve always had to describe in my job as police spokesman. Gun violence has no limits.”

Wright graduated from Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, and “was a great basketball player, but moreover an outstanding father to his newborn son,” Howard said. Wright had just started a new job, he added.

Howard asked anyone with information on the shooting to call Markham police at (708) 331-2171.

“If anybody has anything, please com forward,” Wright’s father, Otheius Wright, said at a news conference overnight. “We just want justice for my son.”

Markham police did not respond to multiple requests for comment.