21-Year-Old Woman Identified In Fatal Mariano's Shooting: Cops

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — A 21-year-old Mariano’s employee was shot and killed Thursday morning at the store, 2559 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park police said. The shooting is believed to be be domestic-related, according to officials.

She was identified as Jailene Flores, of Chicago, by the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Just after 9 a.m., calls were received of shots fired inside the supermarket. Police said that store surveillance video showed the suspect, believed to be the employee’s boyfriend, following her into the store.

Police were able to identify a potential suspect right away by pulling a police report of a previous incident involving the couple in a similar domestic situation at the Amazon Fresh store in Oak Lawn. Evergreen Park police pulled a description of the suspect’s car from the report, along with a license plate.

The suspect’s vehicle was tracked by license plate readers to Chicago’s North Side Edgewater neighborhood, where he was taken into custody in the 1300 block of Thorndale Avenue, police said.

Officers swarmed Mariano’s after calls were reported that an active shooter was inside the supermarket. Evergreen Park Police Chief Michael Saunders said officers cautiously approached the store entrance.

“Based on the information we had at the time, we believed we had an active shooter inside the building,” Saunders said at a news conference. “As soon as we saw people in the front of the store, we evacuated them.”

Saunders said officers began searching the store and found the 21-year-old woman in a back storage room. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released the name of the Mariano's employee, or the person in custody.

Evergreen Park police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force continue to investigate and interview witnesses. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Evergreen Park Police Department at 708-422-2144.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.