Employee ordered detained in shooting that killed 2 in Southwest Side Chicago fast-food restaurant
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Surveillance video shows two men being shot and killed in a fast-food restaurant on Chicago's Southwest Side—and an employee is now charged with the murders.
The accused gunman in the shooting at the JJ Fish & Chicken on Western Avenue, Mehdi Medellel, was in court for the first time for a detention hearing Wednesday.
Medellel, 42, was charged with two felony counts of first-degree murder. Police said he was arrested just before 11 p.m. Monday in the shooting at the JJ Fish & Chicken location at 7828 S. Western Ave. around half an hour earlier.
In the surveillance video, two men are seen inside the restaurant—one sitting down and eating, and one with an open suitcase he is going through on the floor while bent over. The second man is seen standing up straight, as an employee police say is Medellel walks into the frame with a gun in his hand.
The employee police say is Medellel raises his arm and points a gun at the man with the suitcase—walking toward him as the man backs up.
The man with the suitcase is then shot in the head and he immediately collapses. The shooter then turns to the man sitting down and shoots him in the head too—he falls from his chair to the floor.
The shooter then leaves the restaurant through the front door.
The victims, ages 56 and 57, were pronounced dead on the scene. They have not been publicly identified.
Police told said there was a quarrel before the shooting, but it is not shown on video and was not mentioned in court.
Prosecutors calling the shooting a "horrific" "execution-style" killing. They said neither victim was armed.
Prosecutors also said right before the shooting, Medellel "was seen handling a firearm in the back kitchen area of the restaurant by the restaurant cook." right before the shooting.
"The restaurant cook heard the gunshots and fled out of the back door then called the police," Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers said in a proffer.
Prosecutors said police found Medellel a couple miles away about 30 minutes later, and prosecutors said he "led police to a dumpster where a firearm was located."
Medellel was identified in photos and videos by both the cook, who called police, and the owner of the restaurant.
CBS News Chicago took a closer look at Medellel's background. He has a domestic battery charge from 2021, and a number of traffic violations.
Medellel's attorney said he has two young daughters, and claims he didn't shoot anyone.
Medellel will be held in custody until his next court date.