Updated 5/1/12 1:00 p.m.
A man and a woman were held as “persons of interest” in the shooting of a 26-year-old Bellwood man who was lured to Forest Park by promises to return his lost cellphone, Forest Park Deputy Chief Tom Aftanas said.
The pair were taken into custody Sunday night between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m., although Aftanas declined to give the location for the arrest until charges can be filed. Aftanas also did not reveal where the pair were from or their ages.
Aftanas said the man lost his phone in Bellwood Saturday and called it later in the day. A male voice answered the phone and agreed to return it at the 7-Eleven parking lot at Desplaines Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Forest Park.
Witnesses claimed around 2:50 p.m. the two men began to argue in the parking lot when the finder of the phone demanded $100. The offender pulled out a silver revolver and shot the Bellwood man in the neck. A female companion with the Bellwood man called 911.
The shooter and a woman then allegedly ran northbound on Desplaines Avenue, according to witnesses.
Police searched the area, but were unable to find the phone or a weapon Saturday, Aftanas said. He declined to say how the persons of interest were identified.
The victim was taken to Loyola University Hospital, and was in critical condition, Aftanas said.
