Jason Nightengale

Jason Nightengale was born in 1988 in the United States. Publicly available records provide limited verified information regarding his early childhood, family background, or education. Prior to January 2021, Nightengale lived in the Chicago metropolitan area. No detailed public profile of his personal or professional life was widely documented before the shooting spree that brought him to national attention.

Law enforcement officials did not release evidence of an extensive criminal record before the events of January 9, 2021. In the days following the shootings, authorities stated that the motive for Nightengale’s actions remained under investigation, and no definitive explanation was publicly confirmed. What is known is that his actions unfolded rapidly over several hours, spanning multiple neighborhoods in Chicago and extending into Evanston.

On the afternoon of January 9, 2021, Jason Nightengale began a deadly shooting spree that spanned several locations on Chicago’s South Side and later continued into Evanston, Illinois.

Shortly before 1:50 p.m., Nightengale fatally shot 30-year-old Yiran Fan, a doctoral student from China, while Fan was seated inside his vehicle in a parking garage in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Fan was shot in the head and died at the scene.

After leaving the parking garage, Nightengale entered an apartment building located at 4940 South East End Avenue. Inside the building, he fatally shot 46-year-old Aisha Johnson, who was working as a doorwoman. During the same incident, a 77-year-old woman was shot in the head while retrieving her mail. She survived her injuries.

Nightengale then entered another apartment building in the 5500 block of South East End Avenue, where he encountered an acquaintance and stole a red Toyota vehicle. Using the stolen car, he traveled to the AK Food Mart convenience store located at 9307 South Halsted Street. Inside the store, Nightengale fatally shot 20-year-old Anthony Faulkner in the head. He also shot and seriously injured an 81-year-old woman, striking her in the neck and back. After the shooting, Nightengale jumped over the counter and robbed the store’s cash register before fleeing.

At approximately 4:00 p.m., Nightengale shot 15-year-old Damia Smith while she was seated in the back seat of her mother’s vehicle in the 10300 block of South Halsted Street. Smith sustained critical injuries and was hospitalized. She later died from her wounds on February 2, 2021.

At an undetermined time after the earlier shootings, Nightengale returned to the AK Food Mart and fired shots at police officers who were investigating the scene. One bullet struck a police vehicle, but no officers were injured.

Nightengale then traveled north to Evanston, where he fired a shot at a CVS Pharmacy located at 101 Asbury Avenue. No one was struck during that incident. He proceeded to enter an IHOP restaurant, where he shot 61-year-old Marta Torres after allegedly taking her hostage. Torres was critically injured and later died from her wounds on January 17, 2021.

Following the IHOP shooting, Nightengale fled the scene and was pursued by Evanston police officers. Near a Dollar General store, officers confronted him. During the encounter, Nightengale was shot multiple times by police. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead on January 9, 2021.

The shooting spree resulted in five deaths across multiple locations and left several others injured. The case concluded with Nightengale’s death, and no criminal trial took place.