Nearly five years after 19-year-old Chrys Carvajal was gunned down in a senseless act of gang violence, the FBI is renewing its call for justice with an increased reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of fugitive Joseph Matos.
Carvajal had recently completed Army National Guard basic training and returned home to Chicago to spend Fourth of July weekend with family and friends. On July 3, 2021, as he walked to his vehicle after attending a party in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the city’s North Side, investigators say he was approached by Matos and Gary Roberson, two alleged members of the Milwaukee Kings street gang, and fatally shot.
Authorities allege the attack was likely committed to enhance the shooters’ standing within the gang.
“Chrys Carvajal had no gang affiliation whatsoever,” said FBI Chicago Supervisory Special Agent Michael Zoufal, who heads the Bureau’s Second City Gang Task Force, which is investigating the case. “He wasn’t known to these individuals. There was no connection. Unfortunately, it was simply a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”