Antonio Reyes. Photo: Cook County Sheriff's Office
A young man from Chicago is being accused of going on a terrifying murder spree, randomly killing six people over nine months—all while he was still a teenager.
Antonio Reyes, now 21, has been charged with five felony counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder. At the time of the alleged killings in 2020, he was just 16 and 17 years old.
Authorities revealed the shocking details during a press conference on Wednesday. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling called Reyes’ actions “extremely violent,” emphasizing that he showed a “complete disregard for human life.”
Reyes was already behind bars for allegedly killing 26-year-old Luis Davalos-Garcia in June 2020. Davalos-Garcia had been sitting in his car outside his girlfriend’s home—his vehicle even had a “baby on board” sign—when he was fatally shot. Prosecutors believe Reyes may have been emotionally distressed over a recent breakup at the time.
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Now, new evidence has linked him to five other murders, including the deaths of a 31-year-old man on March 2, a 21-year-old man on April 5, a 16-year-old boy on May 1, another 31-year-old man on November 8, and a 20-year-old man on November 9. In one of the most horrifying incidents, Reyes allegedly opened fire on a vehicle carrying an adult victim and three children between the ages of 3 and 9. The adult was killed instantly, while the children narrowly survived.
Investigators say a major breakthrough in the case came when shell casings from a .40 caliber handgun found in mid-2020 matched evidence from multiple crime scenes. Detectives pieced together physical and digital clues that ultimately led them to Reyes.
“This started when Mr. Reyes was a teenager,” Supt. Snelling said. “When we’re dealing with someone this violent, we have to take them off the streets.”
State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke described the killings as “serial murders,” emphasizing that none of the victims knew Reyes—and there was no apparent reason he targeted them.
Reyes, who is also accused of attempting to kill his jail cellmate in 2022, has pleaded not guilty to the new charges. His next court appearance is set for March 18.
