Police in Chicago investigating the murder of an Irishman, Mr Barry Cunnane, last Saturday have denied reports of an arrest and are still questioning people.
A report in the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday claiming a suspect had been arrested on Sunday was dismissed as false by Chicago police.
"No arrests have been made yet, we are still appealing to the public for information and canvassing neighbours in the area," a Chicago Police Department spokesman told The Irish Times last night. "We hope the information we didn't get at the crime scene will become available through interviews."
Mr Cunnane, believed to be from the Dublin area, was shot in the head in an apparently motiveless murder as he was walking home from a party at 1.30 a.m. on Saturday.
Arrangements have been made for a wake today at Cooney's Funeral Home from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Chicago. A funeral Mass will take place at St Bonaventure's Church at 7 p.m. tomorrow. Mr Cunnane's remains are expected to be flown home to Ireland for burial.
Mr Cunnane's parents and sister, who are currently in Chicago, are expected to return home on Saturday.
The pastor of St Bonaventure's Church, Father Jim Heneghan, called the murder "an act of pure evil" without reason or rationale. "Barry moved to Chicago because he thought it was safer than New York or LA. It's horrific, it just doesn't make sense," Father Heneghan said yesterday.