17-Year-Old Serial Killer Preyed On Strangers For Months In Chicago: Police

CHICAGO — A 17-year-old killed six strangers during the summer of 2020 across Chicago’s Southwest Side, police announced Wednesday.

“None of these people had ever met Antonio Reyes before and there’s no reason to suspect Antonio Reyes had any reason to target them,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said during a press conference recorded by WGN. “But that’s exactly what he did.”

Reyes, who is now 21, has been held in Cook County Jail since 2021 on a murder charge in the June 24, 2020, killing of a 26-year-old man in the 5800 block of South Rockwell Street, according to police, who said he is charged as of Tuesday with five additional murder counts and four attempted murder counts.

The victims of those killings include, police said:

• A 31-year-old man killed March 2, 2020, in the 2600 block of West 59th Street;
• A 21-year-old man killed and a second attempted April 5, 2020, in the 4100 block of South Sacramento Avenue;
• A 16-year-old boy killed May 1, 2020, in the 5200 block of South Homan Avenue;
• A 31-year-old man killed Nov. 8, 2020, in the 5400 block of South Homan Avenue with three additional murders attempted on children ages 3-9;
• A 20-year-old man killed Nov. 9, 2020, in the 4700 block of West 59th Street.

The Chicago Sun-Times has identified the victims, in chronological order of death, as Claudio Cossio, Francisco Magana, Damian Duran, Luis Davalos Garcia, Jose Martinez and Justin Gonzalez.

One victim was taking his young children to buy a puppy, another was sitting in a parked car with a friend and a third was going to a gas station to buy a soda, according to O’Neill Burke.

“We have six lives and who knows how many he may have been responsible for?” Superintendent of Police Larry Snelling said. “We’ll continue to look into that”

While Reyes was awaiting trial in jail he tried to kill his cellmate with a shank, according to O’Neill Burke.

Authorities were able to tie Reyes to the 2020 killings after recovering a .40-caliber handgun that summer that matched casings at other crime scenes, Bureau of Detectives Chief Antoinette Ursitti said, adding Reyes also had a significant social media footprint.

While police consider several cases involving Reyes to be closed, they are looking at additional incidents and potential associates, she said.