Charges filed in fatal shooting near Millennium Park over weekend
A Berwyn man who visited the Millennium Park area Saturday with his mother and girlfriend for a wine tasting event got involved in a heated street quarrel over religion, resulting in his murder, police said.
Paul Pagan, 32, who was not initially involved in the argument, allegedly approached Peter Fabbri, 54, and shot him in the head and stomach at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, police said.
Pagan, who has been arrested 39 times and convicted twice for pointing a gun during an argument, was charged Monday with murder, according to First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro.
About 7:35 p.m., Fabbri left the wine tasting event with the two women. While walking down Michigan Avenue, the family encountered a group of about seven to 10 people who were passing out religious pamphlets near Monroe Street. The family and several witnesses told police that the group was preaching a "hateful message," said Commander Brendan Deenihan.
The family began to argue with the group over the scriptures the group was citing, Deenihan said.
"(They were) arguing about scriptures, and the victim and his female companions were talking about Christians and love, and the other group was kind of talking about hate," Deenihan said.
The argument grew heated, which is when Pagan, who is not affiliated with either group, rode up on his bicycle. He approached Fabbri and began to argue with him. The argument escalated into a physical fight, Deenihan said, which ended when Pagan pulled out a handgun and shot Fabbri.
Deenihan said he speculates the first shot didn't hinder Fabbri, and so Pagan shot him a second time.
"What we believe happened is there was one shot, and what we believe is that that shot was in the chest or abdomen area. I think due to the heated discussion, I think Pagan, the offender, maybe believed that this was going to kind of stop the victim.
"But it didn't, and the victim was still enraged, and after he got shot he's still approaching. And at that point, I think Pagan, and you know I'm speculating, said... the thing has to end," Deenihan said.
After Fabbri was shot, his mother and girlfriend tried to detain Pagan but failed, police said, as Pagan got back on his bicycle and took off. Fabbri's sister, Shelly Fabbri, told reporters she chased Pagan as he fled.
"I chased him through the street, tried to hold the bike down," she told reporters. "His girlfriend comes and punched me and ripped my shirt. I wind up on the ground and another security guard came to help me and call the police."
Area police quickly tracked Pagan down, however, in part due to the gang tattoos covering his bald scalp, which made him easily identifiable, police said. He was immediately placed into custody and identified as the shooter by witnesses at the scene, police said.
Fabbri was pronounced dead at Northwestern hospital a day later.
Diane White, a security guard at the School of the Art Institute, said she was crossing Monroe toward the park when she saw two men scuffling with each other and heard a shot.
"As I came across (the street), I saw them fighting over here," White said. "At first I heard a 'bang' like a firecracker. Then I saw a gentleman fall," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh man, somebody got shot.' "
Fabbri's niece, Nina Parks, said she was with her mother, Fabbri and his girlfriend at a wine-tasting when her uncle was shot.
"My uncle ... was a huge-hearted man and was always there for anyone if he could be," she said on a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $4,000 by midafternoon Monday.
Pagan, who has four past felony convictions and had been wanted on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, is slated to appear for a bond hearing in Cook County criminal court on Tuesday.
Charges filed in fatal shooting near Millennium Park over weekend
A Berwyn man who visited the Millennium Park area Saturday with his mother and girlfriend for a wine tasting event got involved in a heated street quarrel over religion, resulting in his murder, police said.
Paul Pagan, 32, who was not initially involved in the argument, allegedly approached Peter Fabbri, 54, and shot him in the head and stomach at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, police said.
Pagan, who has been arrested 39 times and convicted twice for pointing a gun during an argument, was charged Monday with murder, according to First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro.
About 7:35 p.m., Fabbri left the wine tasting event with the two women. While walking down Michigan Avenue, the family encountered a group of about seven to 10 people who were passing out religious pamphlets near Monroe Street. The family and several witnesses told police that the group was preaching a "hateful message," said Commander Brendan Deenihan.
The family began to argue with the group over the scriptures the group was citing, Deenihan said.
"(They were) arguing about scriptures, and the victim and his female companions were talking about Christians and love, and the other group was kind of talking about hate," Deenihan said.
The argument grew heated, which is when Pagan, who is not affiliated with either group, rode up on his bicycle. He approached Fabbri and began to argue with him. The argument escalated into a physical fight, Deenihan said, which ended when Pagan pulled out a handgun and shot Fabbri.
Deenihan said he speculates the first shot didn't hinder Fabbri, and so Pagan shot him a second time.
"What we believe happened is there was one shot, and what we believe is that that shot was in the chest or abdomen area. I think due to the heated discussion, I think Pagan, the offender, maybe believed that this was going to kind of stop the victim.
"But it didn't, and the victim was still enraged, and after he got shot he's still approaching. And at that point, I think Pagan, and you know I'm speculating, said... the thing has to end," Deenihan said.
After Fabbri was shot, his mother and girlfriend tried to detain Pagan but failed, police said, as Pagan got back on his bicycle and took off. Fabbri's sister, Shelly Fabbri, told reporters she chased Pagan as he fled.
"I chased him through the street, tried to hold the bike down," she told reporters. "His girlfriend comes and punched me and ripped my shirt. I wind up on the ground and another security guard came to help me and call the police."
Area police quickly tracked Pagan down, however, in part due to the gang tattoos covering his bald scalp, which made him easily identifiable, police said. He was immediately placed into custody and identified as the shooter by witnesses at the scene, police said.
Fabbri was pronounced dead at Northwestern hospital a day later.
Diane White, a security guard at the School of the Art Institute, said she was crossing Monroe toward the park when she saw two men scuffling with each other and heard a shot.
"As I came across (the street), I saw them fighting over here," White said. "At first I heard a 'bang' like a firecracker. Then I saw a gentleman fall," she said. "I'm like, 'Oh man, somebody got shot.' "
Fabbri's niece, Nina Parks, said she was with her mother, Fabbri and his girlfriend at a wine-tasting when her uncle was shot.
"My uncle ... was a huge-hearted man and was always there for anyone if he could be," she said on a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $4,000 by midafternoon Monday.
Pagan, who has four past felony convictions and had been wanted on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, is slated to appear for a bond hearing in Cook County criminal court on Tuesday.
Charges filed in fatal shooting near Millennium Park over weekend
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