Solved case · 2021
Also known as shooting of Anthony Alvarez · murder of Anthony Alvarez
The short answer
On March 31, 2021, 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez was fatally shot in the back by Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano while fleeing on foot during a pursuit that began over a traffic stop. Body camera footage released weeks later showed Alvarez holding a gun as he ran; prosecutors declined to file charges in March 2022.
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Suggest coverage for Killing of Anthony AlvarezOn March 31, 2021, Anthony Alvarez, a 22-year-old Latino man and father from Chicago, was shot and killed by Chicago Police Department Officer Evan Solano in the Portage Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side. According to body camera footage released by police on April 28, 2021, Solano pursued Alvarez on foot along Laramie Avenue following what Mayor Lori Lightfoot described as a minor traffic violation. On the sidewalk at Laramie and Eddy, Solano observed a gun in Alvarez's hand, shouted "Drop the gun!" twice, and then fired five shots in quick succession, striking Alvarez in the back. Alvarez's final words were reportedly "Why are you shooting me?", to which Solano replied "You had a gun." Alvarez was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
The release of the footage made Alvarez's death the third high-profile release that month of video showing police killing a young Latino person, following the cases of Adam Toledo and Mario Gonzalez. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) opened an investigation into the shooting, with a spokesperson recommending Solano be relieved of police powers during the investigation's pendency. On March 15, 2022, the Cook County State's Attorney's office announced that while Solano and his partner "created the conditions" necessitating the use of deadly force, the office would not file criminal charges in the shooting.
Alvarez's family publicly mourned his death. His father said he wanted answers about why the shooting occurred, and his aunt described the killing as unjust at a public protest. On May 1, 2021, approximately one hundred people marched through Portage Park from West Irving Park Road and North Central Avenue to the site of Alvarez's death, chanting slogans including "Hands up, don't shoot." Alvarez's daughter was among the protesters, holding a sign reading "I miss my daddy."
The case drew responses from civic institutions and public officials. The ACLU called for a new foot-pursuit policy informed by community input. Mayor Lightfoot stated that a minor traffic offense should not result in a fatal shooting. Alderman George Cardenas questioned whether Alvarez posed a threat given he was not facing the officer. U.S. Representative Jesús "Chuy" García linked the case to broader patterns of police violence against Black and Brown communities, and Illinois State Representative Will Guzzardi argued Alvarez did not deserve to be shot while fleeing.
In the aftermath, Lightfoot and then-Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said changes to the department's foot-pursuit policy would be implemented by the end of summer 2021. Chicago's foot-pursuit practices had been under scrutiny since a 2017 Department of Justice report described such pursuits as "inherently dangerous." The Chicago Police Department remains under a federal consent decree requiring broader reforms, and an independent monitoring team has noted officers lack full "buy-in" on foot-pursuit reforms.
Anthony Alvarez, 22, is fatally shot in the back by Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano while fleeing on foot in the Portage Park neighborhood, following a pursuit that began over a minor traffic violation.
Chicago police release body camera footage of the shooting, showing Alvarez holding a gun as he was shot while running from Officer Solano.
About 100 people march through Portage Park to the site of Alvarez's death in protest.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office announces it will not file charges against Solano, though it states he and his partner 'created the conditions' necessitating deadly force.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
22-year-old Latino man and father, fatally shot in the back by police while fleeing on foot on March 31, 2021.[3]
Chicago Police Department officer since 2015 who shot and killed Anthony Alvarez; not charged following investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's office.[3]
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Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSourceSOLVEDListen8213 West Summerdale Avenue, Norwood Park Township, Illinois · 1970s
John Wayne Gacy, a Chicago-area contractor known for performing as a clown at community events, was convicted of raping, torturing, and murdering at least 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978, most of whom he buried beneath his house.
Image recordEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenDouglass Park, Chicago, Illinois · 2010s
Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot in the head by off-duty Chicago police detective Dante Servin near Douglass Park in 2012. Servin was later charged with involuntary manslaughter but cleared in a 2015 bench trial after the judge ruled the shooting was intentional rather than reckless.
Credit: Lorie ShaullCC BY-SA 2.0SourceSOLVEDListenLittle Village, Chicago, Illinois · 2020s
On March 29, 2021, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Chicago Police Officer Eric Stillman in an alley in the Little Village neighborhood after a foot chase; body camera footage released weeks later showed Toledo's hands were raised and empty when he was shot. The officer was not criminally charged.
Credit: Presumably Sonya MasseyEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenWoodside Township, near Springfield, Illinois · 2024
On July 6, 2024, Sangamon County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Grayson fatally shot Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old unarmed Black woman, inside her Woodside Township, Illinois home after she called 911 about a possible prowler. Grayson was convicted of second-degree murder in October 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Credit: Ethan RobertsonCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenBrooklyn Center, Minnesota · 2021
On April 11, 2021, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was fatally shot in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, by police officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop, after Potter said she mistakenly fired her handgun instead of her Taser. Potter was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison.
SOLVEDListenAkron, Ohio · 2022
Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Akron, Ohio resident, was fatally shot by police on June 27, 2022, after a car chase and brief foot pursuit in which eight officers fired approximately 90 rounds, striking him at least 46 times. A grand jury declined to charge any officers, and the city later settled with his family for $4.85 million.
