Irishman thought to be victim of gang initiation ritual as police chase killer

CHICAGO police have denied media reports that detectives investigating the murder of an Irish actor in the city last weekend had arrested a suspect.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department confirmed yesterday that no arrests had been made for a crime that has baffled the US authorities.

Dubliner, Barry Cunnane was shot in the head at close range in an apparently random attack as he walked to a bar with a friend in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The incident took place close to his apartment in the Ravenswood district of the city where the 27-year-old

actor had lived in recent years since first moving to the US six years ago.

Contrary to some US media reports that a man had been arrested by officers from the third district division, a police spokesperson said the hunt was continuing for a black male who is the prime suspect for the attack.

Chicago police are still unclear about the motive for the killing, especially as it occurred in a relatively safe, quiet neighbourhood of the city.

However, Ravenswood residents have expressed concern about a recent upturn in the number of muggings and burglaries in the area.

Mr Cunnane is also reported to have made anonymous phone calls to police to alert them about drug deals being conducted near his home.

Ironically, when he moved to the US in 1997 he chose to live in Chicago rather than New York or Boston because he believed it was safer.

One possible theory is that Mr Cunnane, who comes from Ballinteer, was the victim of a gangland initiation ritual because robbery did not appear the motive for the shooting.

Mr Cunnane’s friend who witnessed the fatal assault said they had been walking along a footpath when they stood aside to let two men pass in the opposite direction.

One of the other pair made a comment like “what’s up” before firing a gun directly at Mr Cunnane’s head.

“I’m still really numb. It’s going to take a long time to sink in,” said the friend. Mr Cunnane, who aspired to become a full-time actor, worked as a sales’ specialist with a medical insurance firm in Chicago.

Members of Mr Cunnane’s family including his parents, Frank and Monica, travelled to Chicago at the weekend, where another son Frank also lives, to make arrangements to bring his body back to Ireland for burial.

A memorial service is also due to be held at Mr Cunnane’s local Catholic church, St Bonaventure’s where he attended mass regularly.

Jim Masini, head of the amateur San Sebastian Players theatre group in Chicago who worked with Mr Cunnane, described the actor as a director’s dream.

“It is so stunning that such a peaceful person should die in such a violent way,” said Mr Masini.