Man fatally shot in Austin after leaving birthday cookout: ‘He was a great guy’

A dozen family members and friends gathered early Monday on a street overlooking the Eisenhower Expressway as they mourned the death of a man fatally shot during an argument in Austin.

About 1 a.m., Jeremy Ross, 31, and another man were arguing in a car in the 5100 block of West Flournoy, near a West Side exit ramp of Interstate 290, Chicago Police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said. The pair stepped out of the vehicle and the other man pulled out a gun and opened fire.

Police investigate a fatal shooting in the 5100 block of West Flournoy Street. Annie Costabile/Sun-Times

Ross was shot twice in the chest and once in the head, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooter, who police said was driving a green Kia Soul, was a friend of Ross and his girlfriend, according to a woman who identified herself as the girlfriend’s mother. She was among the group gathered about 100 yards from the man’s body, which lay in the street, covered by a white sheet.

“He was a great guy,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

The couple had just left the mother’s home, where friends and family had gathered to celebrate the young woman’s upcoming birthday.

The mother said police told them that sometime during the car ride, the two men started arguing and stepped out of the car. When the friend pulled out a gun, the girlfriend pleaded with him to stay calm.

A south suburban Harvey man was shot and killed after leaving a family cookout Saturday. Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

“She told him, ‘Man, don’t shoot me. Please don’t shoot me,” the woman said. Instead, the shooter fired twice at Ross, then paused before firing a third time.

Ross’ mother and other relatives were also at the scene, but they declined to comment.

Ross was a resident of south suburban Harvey, according to the medical examiner’s office.

No one was in custody early Monday as Area North detectives were conducting a homicide investigation.