Pair of killings shake Rogers Park

By Elyssa Cherney, Jeremy Gorner and Madeline Buckley

October 2, 2018, 9:35PM

The back-to-back killings in Rogers Park seemed to be as random as they were brutal: an elderly man walking his dogs just steps from his home on Sunday and then, barely 36 hours later, a young man walking blocks away on the Lakefront Trail near Loyola Park. Both were shot once in the head, left for dead.

But police on Tuesday confirmed what for many residents was their worst fear: The same gun was used to shoot both men, most likely by the same gunman. Just about every other detail remains a mystery.

What is clear is that the killings of Douglass Watts, 73, and Eliyahu Moscowitz, 24, have shaken the neighborhood known for its diversity, prompting Mayor Rahm Emanuel to urge residents to use caution as they go about their daily lives.

“To all the residents of the Rogers Park community, your city is standing with you, supporting you, at this moment,” Emanuel said at a news conference. "I know firsthand the Rogers Park community is strong, is resilient and is a supportive community. We need those core values and the Police Department needs those core values at this time.”

Chicago police said Watts and Moscowitz did not appear to know each other. Police have not found a motive behind the attacks. Nothing was taken from the victims during the shootings.

“Given the frequency of these homicides and what we know about the investigations, detectives have been working aggressively to cultivate leads," police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.

Asked whether police were investigating the shootings as a possible hate crime because Watts was gay and Moscowitz an observant Jew, Johnson said it was too early to rule anything out.

As news spread about the shootings, residents of Rogers Park organized vigils, community events and even the start of a new block club.

Moscowitz, who supervised a kosher kitchen at a Jewel-Osco store, was fatally shot on the evening of Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday that celebrates reading the final chapter of the Torah before restarting the scroll. His family would not use technology during the holiday, so Emanuel said it wasn’t appropriate to call them yet.

Watts was steps from the home where he lived with his husband and mother-in-law on Sunday when he was returning from a walk with his two small dogs. Some witnesses saw the man dressed in all black approach Watts and shoot him in the head.

Watts married his husband in 2015 following a civil union ceremony in 2011, according to a friend, Kirk Williamson.

“He’s the nicest, sweetest guy in the world, and I want to do what I can to help,” Williamson said.

READ MORE: 'What could anybody possibly have against him?' Masked gunman kills elderly man walking his dogs in Rogers Park

The neighborhood is far from Chicago's most violent communities, though the Rogers Park police district — which covers the community itself as well as neighboring West Rogers Park and a part of Edgewater — has seen a slight jump in homicides over the last year.

Through September, and not counting Moscowitz’s slaying, the district had seven homicides compared to five last year, according to official Police Department statistics. Through the same time period, shooting incidents also jumped to 26 from 18, the department said. But shooting incidents in the district were still down by double digits when compared to the same periods in 2015, 2014 and 2013, the statistics show.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shootings to call detectives at 312-744-8200 or submit an anonymous tip online at www.cpdtip.com.