A West Side man with an extensive criminal record was shot to death on Division Street near Cuyler Avenue just before 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Clarence Fambro, also known as Haven Fambro, 23, was shot in the back at least once. One witness reportedly said he was still breathing immediately after police arrived, but stopped within a minute. Paramedics attempted to treat Fambro, but he was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Oak Park Police Chief Rick Tanksley said the killing was a “spillover” incident from events initiated in Chicago. Tanksley said police are continuing to investigate, but it appeared likely that Fambro, who did not own a car, was driven to the Division Avenue site by others before being shot.
Fambro reportedly had several addresses. His last known address was on the 1500 block of South Homan on the city’s West Side. He had an extensive criminal history, with 17 arrests and 24 convictions, most for drug and weapons violations. He had been paroled last November from the Western Illinois Correctional Center after serving one year on a three year sentence for being a felon in possession of a fire arm.
Neighbors say police arrived very quickly after the incident, in one case before one couple could call 911. Police closed off traffic on Ridgeland Avenue just west of the scene, and two blocks on Division between Ridgeland and Harvey, as well as 200 feet of the 800 block of North Cuyler.
Flood lights were brought in to aid the search for any evidence. There were two fresh patches on the parkway where it appeared that five inch square tuffs of grass had been cut out for evidence.
Joyce Philippi, who lives several doors down from the scene, said she and her husband were awake at the time, and heard “four or five” gun shots.” “I said to my husband, that doesn’t sound like fireworks,” said Philippi, who said police were already on scene when her husband stepped outside to see what had happened.
Neither Philippi nor her neighbor, Kris Gallagher, heard a car leave, but Gallagher said she was awakened by loud voices. “It was very brief, one, possibly two sentences,” said Gallagher. Then a “loud sound.”
Tanksley noted that there will be a regularly scheduled Resident Beat Officer meeting next Tuesday night, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at Hatch School. He and other police brass will be there to discuss the shooting and any other issues citizens wish to discuss.
