A Chicago Man Charged with Killing a Father Playing Pokemon Go with His Daughter in the Park

Evanston Park Khiryan Monroe Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew Servando Hamros Pokemon GO Dad shot at Evanston park

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Jul 31, 02:34 am

Photo: (Photo : Rudy and Peter Skitterians)

This month, an Illinois man has been charged with killing a father playing Pokémon Go with his 6-year-old daughter in a Chicago area park.

Khiryan Monroe, 20, faces one count of first-degree murder in the July 14 killing of Servando Hamros. He is being held without bond. Hamros, 29, was found lying along a canal at Evanston park just after 9 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An officer in the area heard gunshots and immediately responded.

Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew said that the victim was walking in the park with his daughter when he had what appeared to be a confrontation with at least one other subject. Shortly after the said confrontation, an unknown offender, who was armed, shot the victim to death multiple times.

According to a Cook County medical examiner's autopsy, Hamros died from a headshot wound. The victim's daughter witnessed the shooting but was not harmed, per Fox News.

Bond with daughter through playing Pokemon Go

The man killed was a father of two, a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old. According to his family, he was about to start a new job next week as a manager at Culver's, a job that he was excited about.

According to Hamros's brother, the victim was happy when he left the house. The incident was beyond heartbreaking as he looked up to him so much because he was his only brother.

The victim's family members said they weren't certain what the argument was about, but the six-year-old daughter said that there was a group of teenagers and some words were spoken. The child's grandmother said that the child wasn't exactly sure, but she was able to give the police many details - what they looked like and what they were wearing.

Pokémon Go, on the other hand, is a free smartphone application that combines gaming with the real world. The game uses location tracking and mapping technology to create an augmented reality, and players catch and train Pokémon characters in real locations, per WebWise. Hence, the father and daughter were in the park.

A traumatic experience for the victim's daughter

According to the family members, gunshots were also fired at the child, but she escaped harm and immediately called them after the shooting. The child Facetimed her family and informed them that her father had been shot.

"And then to see her vomiting on the side of the police car dealing with this is horrible. No child should lose their parent this way, and no mother should ever bury their child... for no reason. No reason at all," her grandmother said.

The victim sustained one gunshot wound to the eye and collapsed to the ground. A major roadway in north suburban Evanston remained closed for hours after the shooting as police continued investigating the scene, per NBC Chicago.