Chicago Cab Driver Found Shot To Death In Lincoln Square

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Feb 23, 2016 3:44PM

A Flash taxi cab river was found in his cab in Lincoln Square with a fatal gunshot wound to the head Monday morning, according to authorities.

The driver, identified by the Tribune as Kamil Shamji, 59, was found by police around 7:55 a.m. after they received a call about an unresponsive person near a Lincoln Square library near Welles Park in the 4400 block of North Leavitt Street.

According to ABC7, Shamji's friends believe he was picking up a fare from a Rogers Park McDonalds near Pratt and Clark streets. Shamji, 59, was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and is survived by two adult daughters, according to ABC7.

Flash Cab reps said in a statement that Shamji had driven for Flash for over 20 years. "Flash Cab extends its deepest condolences to his family and many friends," the statement read.

Peter Enger, a spokesman for the United Taxidrivers Community Council, told the Tribune that police may be able to gather evidence using video surveillance footage from inside the cab, and possibly from the phone number Shamji's last passenger used to call the cab.

The cab driver's union Cab Drivers United said in a statement that Shamji's death "reminds us all of the almost constant danger cab drivers put themselves in everyday when they go to work." They also pointed out that Chicago saw two cab drivers killed in early 2015 while doing their jobs: Chinedu Madu and Seneca Richardson. The union is now calling on the city to take steps to protect cab drivers.

“The City needs to act to alleviate the serious safety issues that plague the men and women who keep Chicago moving, transporting millions of residents and visitors safely and professionally,” the statement said.