22-Year-Old Employee of Chef Art Smith Fatally Shot in Carjacking

Darwin Tirado, 22, an employee at Chef Art Smith’s Reunion at Navy Pier and a student at City Colleges of Chicago, was shot and killed while sitting in a parked car on the 700-block of West Waveland Avenue in the Northalsted neighborhood, police said. Chef Art Smith attended a candlelight vigil and called Tirado “a very remarkable young man, way too young for something like this to happen to.”

Police said two armed suspects approached a parked Hyundai Sonata just before 4 a.m., demanded the vehicle and belongings, and opened fire as they fled. In one account investigators say Tirado, a passenger, was shot in the chest while a 38-year-old driver was punched in the face and escaped before the suspects jumped into the Sonata and drove off.

Authorities say the suspects then used the stolen Sonata in at least one other carjacking about an hour later. Police said the vehicle was driven to the 3700 block of South Lake Park Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood around 4:45 a.m., where 45-year-old Damon Kellum was sitting in a Nissan Altima and was shot in the head, the Cook County medical examiner reported. Investigators allege the suspects took Kellum’s Altima and abandoned the previously stolen car at the scene.

Chicago police have been working to connect the two deadly carjackings as part of a roughly hour-long spree, and a police statement said, “Throughout this investigation, members of CPD and its law enforcement partners worked diligently and expeditiously to connect these incidents and arrest the offenders before they could hurt anyone else.” So far, no arrests have been publicly reported in connection with the shootings.

Local reporting and court records cited by investigators also reference an individual with the surname Hill as alleged to be connected to another early-morning carjacking on Jan. 10 in West Rogers Park. Those records show a Hill arrested in December 2025 in Lincolnwood on felony possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass to vehicles, granted pretrial release, and appearing at a Feb. 9 status hearing; investigators have not publicly tied that case to the two February killings.

Tirado’s family and coworkers have mounted a growing memorial in Northalsted and held a vigil over the weekend. His mother, Edita, has worked for Smith for more than 20 years, and Smith described Tirado as “a joyful young man. Very full of life. Kind. Considerate, very smart.” An Instagram post called it “This senseless killing of this young man #Darwin over a carjacking and another victim in Bronzeville. … I heart you restaurant family.” Smith urged the public to help, saying, “I want this person brought to justice. I think if people know anything, they need to report it immediately to the police.” Police continue to ask anyone with information to contact Chicago police as the investigation proceeds.