Man killed in West Loop shootout remembered as beloved doorman who helped all​on April 15, 2025 at 10:57 pm

CHICAGO (WLS) — A beloved doorman, who was killed this weekend in a shootout near the UIC-Halsted Blue Line station, is being remembered as someone who helped everyone he knew.

John Flemister, 61, worked in the West Loop.

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He was shot and killed about 6 p.m. Saturday, as he headed home from work, on a pedestrian walking bridge near the vestibule of the CTA Blue Line platform in the 400-block of South Peoria Street at Van Buren, CPD said.

Flemister and a 24-year-old man were at the location and involved in a verbal argument that escalated into an exchange of gunfire, police said.

Flemister was shot in the head during the shootout, CPD said. He died at the hospital.

The younger man is being questioned by police at Area 3, officials said.

Luther Hopkins III, 24, of Calumet City has not been charged with killing Flemister, but with unlawful use of a weapon.

Police have not said how they’re connecting him to this case.

No other injuries were reported.

Flemister’s niece said she doesn’t know why anyone would want to harm her uncle.

“My uncle would help anyone. Anyone in need, he would be there for them, like, he was the sweetest person in the world, the face of the West Loop,” Sabrina Holton said.

READ ALSO | Man killed in shootout in West Loop; CTA Blue Line trains stopped nearby, officials say

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