21-year-old Skokie man fatally shot outside his home

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the 21-year-old man who was reportedly found shot to death outside his home in Skokie early Tuesday morning.

Jordan M. Buelvas, 21, of Skokie, died from multiple gunshot wounds in what the county’s medical examiner ruled a homicide, said Natalia Derevyanny, a spokesperson for the medical examiner’s office.

Local authorities responded at 6:19 a.m. on May 19 to the intersection of LaCrosse Avenue and Grove Street for a report of a person shot, a news alert from the Skokie Police Department says. 

On scene, officers reportedly located Buelvas with multiple gunshot wounds. 

According to the alert, emergency personnel provided first aid and transported him to a local hospital where he died. He was a Skokie resident from the 9000 block of LaCrosse Avenue, Derevyanny said.

Police said a preliminary investigation shows “no known threat to the public” but did not provide any further detail. Skokie police did not immediately return a message from The Record.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, strands of yellow police tape remained wrapped around trees in the residential neighborhood that mainly consists of two-floor townhomes north of Dempster Street.

At least six different squad cars were parked near the blocked-off intersection while approximately 10 police officers continued to work the scene. 

“This neighborhood is getting bad,” Ben Deleon, a Skokie resident, recalled thinking after he heard three loud “booms” outside his apartment Tuesday morning. 

Deleon said he went outside to investigate and saw a man with what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his side lying in the road in the 9000 block of LaCrosse Avenue. 

A video he captured on his phone and shared with The Record showed a man lying on his back near a parked car while multiple people crouched next to him, others stood on the sidewalk, and the flashing blue lights of police cars approached the scene.

“I’m glad I’m moving out,” Deleon said, adding that after 10 years on LaCrosse Avenue he will be moving out in June.

Syed Jaffrey, another Skokie resident and neighbor of the crime scene, said he’s never seen or heard gunshots in the 21 years he’s lived in the neighborhood where the shooting victim was found. 

Jaffrey described the area as family oriented; though he said he’s suggested moving somewhere else to his wife, because he’s heard of car burglaries happening nearby. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it, like this happen,” Jaffrey said. “This is the baddest it’s happened as close by me.”

According to Skokie police data, the department has averaged one homicide a year over the past 10 years. No Skokie murders were documented in 2023 and 2024. Data from 2025 was not immediately available. In 2022, the department investigated one homicide and in 2021, two.

The North Regional Violent Crimes Task Force reportedly is assisting the Skokie Police Department with the investigation.

Skokie police requested that individuals with information regarding the shooting to call the Skokie Police Department at 847-982-5900. 

The 24-hour Skokie Crime Tip Hotline is 847/933-TIPS (8477). Text-A-Tip is available 24 hours a day by texting “Skokie” and your tip to 226787.

Stay tuned to The Record North Shore as this story develops.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.