Police: Fatal Goose Island shootings thought to be related

Chicago Police investigate a homicide in the 1000 block of North Willard Court early Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - Chicago Police believe two fatal shootings about five hours and a block apart in the Goose Island neighborhood on the Near North Side are related.

Early Thursday, a man was found shot to death in the 1000 block of north Willard Court, according to Chicago Police.

The 35-year-old was found in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head at 12:18 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene, but the medical examiner’s office had not released his name as of Thursday afternoon.

The Illinois Department of Corrections identified him as Lawrence Washington, a correctional officer with the department since 2003.

About five hours earlier, 33-year-old Phillip Lewis was found shot to death about a block away in the 900 block of North Racine at 7:11 p.m. Wednesday, the medical examiner’s office and police said. He was pronounced dead at 7:16 p.m. He lived in the 6200 block of Garden View in Matteson.

Police believe the shootings are connected, and are exploring the “relationship and backgrounds of the victims” to find a possible motive, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

The shootings are not thought to be-gang related, but police “sense” the victims may have known their attackers, Guglielmi said.

Area Central detectives are investigating.