Van T. Ross, a 45-year-old African American man from Naperville, was shot to death on September 26, 2021, in Evanston. The incident happened in the 2000 block of Wesley Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. after reports of a shooting and a stabbing. Officers found Ross with gunshot wounds and a 27-year-old man from Chicago who had been stabbed; both were taken to a nearby hospital and Ross was pronounced dead shortly before 5 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy the next day.

The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force (NORTAF) and Evanston Police detectives investigated and initially treated the shooting and stabbing as related, not random, incidents.

If anyone witnessed the events on Wesley Avenue that afternoon or has information that could help the investigation, please share what is known with Evanston police or NORTAF.