Man charged with attempted murder in West Garfield Park shooting

A man who recently worked for an organization dedicated to nonviolence is facing an attempted first-degree murder charge after being identified as the alleged gunman in a shooting last year in West Garfield Park.

Cornelius Moss, 30, who lives in the West Side neighborhood, allegedly shot a 24-year-old man while the younger man was stopped at a red light Oct. 16 in the 400 block of South Kostner, according to Cook County prosecutors.

Prosecutors said surveillance video from a nearby BP gas station showed Moss retrieving a gun from his own car before walking up to the other man’s car and firing multiple times.

Moss, who is currently on probation for a drug conviction, was arrested Thursday afternoon and admitted to being the person seen on the surveillance footage, prosecutors said.

When Judge Mary Marubio ordered Moss held without bail at his initial hearing Saturday, five family members who were in the courtroom’s gallery tried to offer their support.

“Be strong, son,” one woman said before being rushed out of the room by a Cook County sheriff’s deputy.

Moss’ assistant public defender said he was most recently working for the Illinois Institute for Nonviolence. A spokesman for the institute said Moss was not an employee, but had received a stipend from the organization for two weeks this summer to help with anti-violence efforts in his neighborhood by mediating conflicts. Moss has since resigned, the spokesman said.

Court documents showed that Moss also worked for two years as a supervisor at CeaseFire, which aims to mediate gang disputes before they turn violent, but a spokesman for Cure Violence, which oversees CeaseFire, said Moss never worked for the organization.

Moss’ next hearing was scheduled for Thursday.