Andrew Sneed, 36, Charged With Shooting 3 People, Killing One, Who Confronted Him After He Looted West Side Liquor Store, Police Say
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been arrested and charged after police said he looted a liquor store and then shot three people who confronted him – killing one – during civil unrest on Sunday, May 31 on the city's West Side.
Andrew Sneed, 36, has been charged in the incident around 6:30 p.m. that evening at 5102 W. Madison St. in the South Austin neighborhood, police said.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Sneed was looking to target a liquor store for looting, and was spotted by neighbors as he scoped it out and tried to figure out how to get in. The liquor store was well-secured and "buttoned up," Deenihan said.
The community members told Sneed to go away and leave the store alone. But shortly afterward, a fire was set to the second-floor residence just above the liquor store, and the Fire Department had to come and put the fire out, Deenihan said.
When the Fire Department left, the liquor store was no longer secured, so Sneed went in and looted it, Deenihan said.
The same community members who told Sneed to go away before the fire confronted him a second time, Deenihan said. So Sneed walked across the street and shot three of them, killing one – a 27-year-old man, Deenihan said.
Detectives immediately got to work, getting video of the suspect and working with the community to identify eyewitnesses.
The Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Sneed in North Chicago on Wednesday morning, police said.
He was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery involving the discharge of a firearm. Sneed is not charged in the arson above the liquor store, which remained under investigation Thursday, Deenihan said.
Chicago Police and federal authorities recently asked for help identifying 18 people suspected of dozens of arson incidents across Chicago in late May and early June, as the looting spread across Chicago in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Sneed is due in court Friday for a bond hearing.
