Concealed Carry Holder and TSA Agent Charged with Murder
CHICAGO — A concealed carry holder who worked as a TSA agent at O’Hare is charged with murder, accused of shooting an unarmed stranger during a dispute near Chinatown this summer.
Details of the Incident
In a written proffer presented to the court, prosecutors said the victim, 28-year-old Jason Fox, crossed paths with a woman at an after-hours nightclub and grabbed her hands, leading to a “scuffle” early on August 25. Club personnel kicked Fox out.
Meanwhile, the woman called her friend of at least 15 years, Humza Raja, to pick her up from the club, prosecutors said. Video shows Raja, 22, arriving at the club shortly after 7 a.m.
According to the proffer, the woman told Raja about the hand-grabbing incident, and Raja noticed Fox walking nearby on the 400 block of West Cermak. After confirming with the woman that Fox was the man who grabbed her, Raja pulled up to Fox and, without leaving his car, engaged Fox in an argument.
A witness reported hearing a heated conversation between Fox and Raja, during which Raja asked Fox if he intended to take his woman. Fox replied, “Yes,” after confirming that he was also the man who grabbed the woman’s hands, according to prosecutors.
The witness told police they saw the Porsche’s driver hold a gun sideways from inside the car and fire three or four shots toward Fox. They then saw Fox run down the street, stripping off his shirt and pants before collapsing. He had been shot twice in the chest and once in the thigh, prosecutors said.
According to the proffer, neither the witness nor the woman Raja picked up from the club saw Fox with any weapons or making any physical moves toward Raja.
Legal Proceedings
Later that day, Raja called one of his supervisors at O’Hare to announce that they would never see each other again because he had shot someone who “rolled up on him,” the proffer said. Raja failed to report for his next shift.
Prosecutors said Raja confessed to shooting or killing a man during phone conversations with another TSA supervisor and a third TSA employee.
Raja turned himself in to the police on September 4, but he was released the next day without being charged. Police arrested him on Thursday to face charges in the case.
Detectives seized Raja’s phone during his arrest. A search of the device revealed that Raja began using Google to find a criminal defense lawyer immediately after the murder, the proffer said.
Calling the shooting “completely unjustified” based on the prosecution’s proffer, Judge David Kelly detained Raja pending trial on charges of first-degree murder and murder.
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