Investigators are renewing their calls for witnesses to come forward to help identify the gunman who shot and killed an 18-year-old man, who was in the “wrong place at the wrong time,” at a Waukegan park.

Ladarrius M. Cowart, 18, of Gurnee, was shot in the head and died at Bowen Park, 1800 North Sheridan Road in Waukegan.

Officers with the Waukegan Police Department responded to calls of shots fired at the park around 2:20 a.m. on June 6, 2021.

Officers located Cowart, who had been shot in one of the park’s parking lots, then-Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said at the time.

Paramedics pronounced Cowart dead at the scene. The Waukegan Police Criminal Investigations Division was called to investigate the shooting.

Investigators believe that numerous people, possibly between 50-70, were in the parking lot when the shooting occurred. None of the witnesses have come forward.

“We know there are witnesses to this crime. For this violence to stop, members of the community must come forward,” Then-Waukegan Police Chief Wayne Walles said in 2021.

 

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