Saturday's Fatal Millennium Park Shooting Stemmed From Fight About Religion

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 27, 2016 4:58PM

Google Maps / Screenshot / 1-100 block of S. Michigan Ave.

The fatal shooting of a Berwyn man near Millennium Park on Saturday evening began as an argument about religion—but not initially with the man charged with murdering victim Peter Fabbri, police said on Monday.

Fabbri had just left a wine-tasting downtown with his sister and another woman when they came across seven to 10 people who were handing out religious fliers near Millennium Park, Chicago Police Commander Brendan Deenihan said Monday. They thought the fliers had a hateful perspective and the groups got into an argument.

The suspected killer, 32-year-old Paul Pagan, rode by on his bike at that moment. He joined the verbal fight, then got into a “physical confrontation” with Fabbri before shooting him in the head and stomach, according to police. Fabbri was shot three times in the head and twice in the stomach, according to his niece. He died at 5:53 p.m. on Sunday evening, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Deenihan said the religious pamphleteers fled after the shots were fired, and police did not recover any fliers from the scene.

Police also reiterated a call for state lawmakers to increase stricter sentencing guidelines for repeat gun offenders. Pagan was twice convicted of gun-related offenses in the past, according to CPD Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi.

Guglielmi had previously speculated that the shooting may have been “over a woman.”

As of Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe page created by Fabbri's niece, Nina Parks, to raise funds for cremation costs had gathered nearly $5,000 on a $4,000 goal.

Note: This post previously noted that the pamphlets were Christian-themed. Fabbri was a Christian, according to police, and the nature of the fliers is not known.