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Chilling footage before Uber driver shot in head

An Uber driver has been shot dead after he was lured by the alleged attackers who requested a ride.

Police said Joseph Schelstraete was working on May 31 when he was called to a street in Cicero, in the US state of Illinois, about 7.30pm (local time).

He pulled into the street in his blue Ford Focus when four men emerged from an alleyway.

The men attempted to carjack the Uber driver before one of them allegedly shot him in the head.

The group then fled the scene.

Chilling footage obtained by Fox 32 showed the alleged offenders slowly approaching his car.

Doorbell video caught the moment before the Uber driver was shot. Source: Fox 32
Doorbell video caught the moment before the Uber driver was shot. Source: Fox 32

Two men are seen getting into the car after Mr Schelstraete pulls up before another man slowly wanders over.

A witness told Fox 32 that Mr Schelstraete stopped in the street and it looked like somebody had booked the Uber.

"Then one person came out and a second person came out and a third and they started struggling with the driver and at that point a fourth person came out and then at that point that's when they shot him in the back of the head," the witness said.

Police described the men as being male and in their late teens or early 20s.

Uber driver a 'hardworking guy'

Cicero Police Chief Jerry Chlada told reporters the man was "truly a victim".

"Wrong place and wrong time," he told reporters.

"By all accounts, from what we can tell, he is just a hard-working guy."

The father-of-three's aunt Kim Bova said the family would be donating his organs.

"He would just be so proud of what he's gifting to somebody," she told Fox32.

"Just think of those patients receiving the news that they got a heart. That they got a liver or whatever they are receiving from Joe. What a joyous, joyous day for them."

Joseph Schelstraete was described as a hardworking guy. Source: Cicero Police
Joseph Schelstraete was described as a hardworking guy. Source: Cicero Police

Ms Bova added the father was working two jobs to provide for his children.

"It wasn't an obligation or a chore," she said.

Fox 32 reports a juvenile was in custody while police were hunting for the three others involved.

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