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Alex Angel Cortez

Age : 16

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/18/2024

Location : 1800 block of South Blue Island Avenue

City : Pilsen

County : Cook

State : Illinois

Agency : Chicago Police Department, Robbery Task Force

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by Robbery Task Force after shooting

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/18/2024, Alex Angel Cortez, 16, was shot and killed by Chicago Police Department officers assigned to the Robbery Task Force in the Pilsen neighborhood. At approximately 1:16 a.m., the officers were already patrolling the area when they heard numerous gunshots near the 1800 block of South Blue Island Avenue and moved toward the gunfire.
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Police alleged that officers encountered Cortez and another armed person after hearing the shots. Both officers fired their weapons, striking Cortez. Cortez was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead at approximately 1:56 a.m.
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Nearby, police found 29-year-old Stephen Mancilla Carlos and a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside a vehicle. Both were initially hospitalized in critical condition. Mancilla Carlos died from his injuries on August 21.
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Chicago police alleged that Cortez and another person had fired at the vehicle before officers encountered them. Police reported recovering a firearm at the scene. Cortez's father, Fulgencio Cortez, publicly disputed the police account that his son was armed and said the family wanted evidence and answers about the circumstances of the shooting.
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A significant later development occurred in 2025, when prosecutors charged Christopher Ford, 24, in connection with the shooting of Mancilla Carlos and the woman. Prosecutors alleged that video showed Ford and Cortez firing approximately 35 rounds at the victims' vehicle in a case of mistaken identity. Prosecutors further alleged that immediately afterward police activated their emergency lights and pursued the two on foot, and that Cortez stopped and turned toward the pursuing officers while holding a firearm in his right hand. An officer then shot Cortez. Investigators attributed 16 of the shots fired at the vehicle to the gun police alleged Cortez was carrying.
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The Civilian Office of Police Accountability opened an investigation into the officers' use of deadly force. COPA stated that Illinois juvenile-record law prevented it from publicly releasing the video and other materials normally released following a fatal police shooting. As of the later publicly available reporting, COPA's final findings had not been released.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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The Chicago police officers involved in the shooting have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago-robbery-task-force-shooting-2024
https://abc7chicago.com/news/pilsen-police-shooting-teenager-2024-update
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-police-robbery-task-force-pilsen-shooting/
https://www.chicagocopa.org/press/copa-provides-update-on-fatal-officer-involved-shooting-near-1800-s-blue-island-ave/
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/08/19/boy-16-fatally-shot-police-pilsen
https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2024/08/22/man-shot-by-alex-cortez-during-pilsen-police-shooting-dies
https://cwbchicago.com/2025/09/dna-video-and-dropped-phone-tie-man-to-pilsen-murder-16-year-old-partner-shot-dead-by-police.html