New Page 1

Series of Emergencynet News Reports Concerning Multiple Shootings in Illinois and Indiana
02 July 99 to 05 July 99

ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Monday, July 5, 1999-Vol. 3 - 186

ILLINOIS

Police photo of alleged drive-by shooter SHOOTING SPREE SUSPECT KILLS HIMSELF DURING CHASE

A white supremacist suspected of a race hate shooting spree spanning two states, shot and killed himself during a high speed police chase on Sunday night. Authorities had been tracking 21-year-old Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, following shootings in Chicago and Indiana in which two men died and at least six were wounded. But as police drew closer in Salem, Illinois, Smith reportedly hijacked a van, began driving south, and then turned his firearm on himself. The vehicle veered off the road and crashed.

FBI officials are double-checking fingerprints to make sure the body is Smith's. But two guns found with the body were consistent with the shootings and the body had a tattoo on the chest that said "Sabbath Breaker" - which Smith was said to have. The hunt for Smith, believed to be a former member of a white supremacist organization, began when he was suspected of shooting dead a black former basketball coach in a Chicago suburb on Friday. Ricky Byrdsong, 43, died after being shot in the back while walking near his home in the Chicago suburb of Skokie. Two of his four children were with him at the time. They were not injured. Earlier, Smith is believed to have wounded six Orthodox Jews in the Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park and fired at Asian drivers in six drive-by incidents.

Police said the same blue Taurus car was seen at shootings in Springfield and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois on Saturday. In the first attack, the gunman fired on two black men, but no one was hit. Smith is also believed to have killed a second man outside a Korean church in Indiana on Sunday. During Sunday's incident, police said the gunman was reported to have opened fire into a crowd of Asian worshippers as they left church shortly before noon in Bloomington. Indiana University student Won-Joon Yoon, 26, was hit twice in the back and killed. Witnesses said the gunman then sped off.

Police said that Smith was a member of the white supremacist "World Church of the Creator." The organization was allegedly involved in the distribution of anti-minority and anti-Semitic literature in Bloomington last year when Smith was an Indiana University student. Matt Hale, leader of the supremacist group, based in East Peoria, Illinois, said Smith was a member from June 1998 until May Hale said: "When I spoke to him he never gave any inkling of being able to do this."

Earlier on Sunday, one of Smith's ex-girlfriends told the Daily Illini, the student newspaper at the University of Illinois, that the shootings were timed to coincide with Independence Day. She said: "He is not going to stop until he's shot dead. He's not going to surrender. He's not going to give up until he leaves this world."

04 July 99 - Instant Updates - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm

(23:31CDT) The Cable News Network (CNN) reported that the suspected gunman is dead as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sources close to the investigation say that it is likely that Smith killed himself during a high-speed pursuit south of Salem, IL, where he reportedly had carjacked a van and was attempting to flee. Smith's vehicle then ran off the road and crashed. He was reported deceased shortly thereafter at a local hospital. Official details remain few and far between at the time of this report. EmergencyNet News will provide additional information as the circumstances dictate...

(22:30CDT) SALEM, IL: According to police sources, Benjamin Nathaniel Smith has been captured in the small town of Salem, IL this evening. Details of the capture are sketchy at the time of this report, but the suspect in a string of alleged racist shootings, in two states, is believed to be in custody at this time. Reports have been received that some sort of "shoot-out" took place at the scene of the capture.

(20:00CDT) ILLINOIS: Authorities have apparently named a suspect in the series of shootings that have devastated several communities in Illinois and Indiana in the past 72 hours. A warrant is reportedly being issued for Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, age 21. Smith allegedly was also named as a member, or former member of the World Church of the Creator, a purported white supremacist organization. In addition to shootings in the Chicago and Campaign/Urbana area, Smith is now wanted for the shooting and killing of a Korean-American man in Bloomington, Indiana that took place earlier today. A manhunt is currently underway for Smith.

(10:00CDT) URBANA, IL: According to the Reuter's News service, a 22-year-old University of Illinois student was shot in the leg around midnight on Saturday, by a "white gunman" firing from a car bearing the same description as the car used in the series of drive-by shootings in Chicago on Friday night. Cary Keleher, Urbana police spokesperson, said that Urbana detectives are consulting with a Chicago police/FBI task force about the incident. Even though all of the victims have been minority group members, police have so far been reluctant to describe the attacks as "racially motivated hate crimes."

ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Saturday, July 3, 1999-Vol. 3 - 184

CHICAGO

A NIGHT OF DRIVE-BY SHOOTINGS APPEAR TO BE LINKED

Chicago-area police say that an African-American man was killed and six Orthodox Jews were wounded in separate drive-by shootings that may be the work of the same person or group. Minorities were targeted in at least three incidents on Friday night and all were linked to a blue car.

Two Asian-Americans were also shot at as they sat in their vehicle but were not injured. There were no immediate arrests. The dead victims was identified as former Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong. Byrdsong was shot as jogged with his children in north suburban Skokie. He was shot in the back. At least seven shots were fired at Byrdsong, whose children were not injured.

Earlier in the evening, Orthodox Jews were shot and wounded in four separate shootings as they walked home in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, not far from Skokie. None of the wounds was considered life threatening. One man and a 15-year-old boy were in serious condition, two men were in fair condition and two others were treated and released.

In the third incident, police in north suburban Northbrook said a motorist pulled up beside another car on a major thoroughfare and fired several shots at two Asian-Americans inside. Northbrook police said the shots came from a light blue car. The driver was said to be a white man in his 30s.

The ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT is a subscription publication of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This publication specializes in Law Enforcement/Fire/EMS/Disaster and Medical Issues.

Emergency Response and Research Institute
6348 N Milwaukee Ave, Suite 312, Chicago, Illinois 60646 USA
773-631-ERRI Voice/Voice Mail
773-631-4703 Fax
773-631-3467 Computer/Modem - EMERGENCY BBS
Internet e-mail: webmaster@emergency.com
Main WWW page: http://www.emergency.com
Telnet: emergency.com

Return to the Police Operations Archive