CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Family members said a man was shot dead during a carjacking in the South Loop over the weekend, but police are releasing few details of the attack and won’t even say whether the man’s Mercedes is missing.
The victim, identified by relatives as Jacek Rudnicki, 44, was found in the street in the first block of East 24th Street about 4:30 a.m. Sunday with two gunshot wounds, according to Chicago police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rudnicki had been texting a friend about heading to a party somewhere on the Near South Side about 3:30 a.m., according to the family’s lawyer, Gordon Learn.
An hour later, he was found on the street and the 2018 Mercedes SUV he was driving was missing, Learn said. The car belonged to his mother, but Rudnicki used it to drive for Lyft and Uber. Rudnicki’s cell phone and wallet were found on him, the lawyer said.
Paramedics tried in vain to revive Rudnicki as he lay in the snow, according to a police report. Officers noticed “broken car glass fragments,” some covered with blood, near Rudnicki’s body, along with two shell casings, the report states.
But there was “no vehicle” at the scene, according to the report.
Rudnicki’s family believe someone shot him and took off in the Mercedes. But Chicago police would not confirm that Rudnicki was a victim of a carjacking, saying only the “incident, including a possible motive, remains under investigation.” No one was in custody.
Police Supt. David Brown was asked about the attack at a news conference Monday on stepped-up efforts against carjacking, and said he had no details to share.
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Rudnicki lived on Harbor Drive between the Chicago River and Millennium Park, about three miles from where he was shot. His LinkedIn and Facebook pages list him as founder and president of Knowware Consulting which provides business analysis.
“I’ve known Jatic, he was dearly loved by a lot of people.” Learn said. “Everybody is upset by this. That man, such a loving man. Everybody’s in shock over this.”
His father is Dr. Merek Rudniki, a surgeon who is past president of the Polish-American Medical Society in Chicago.
Neil Steinberg and Tom Schuba contributed to this report
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2022. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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