Person of interest in custody in Grant Park cross-burning

Chicago police announced Tuesday that a person of interest was taken into custody in a cross-burning in Grant Park last week — an incident that alarmed officials, faith leaders and the community.

The cross was torched the afternoon of June 9. Police opened an arson investigation as some local officials called for the suspect to be charged with a hate crime. No charges had been announced by Tuesday afternoon.

The police update came after NBC5 Chicago aired an interview with a 21-year-old Naperville man who admitted that he set up and burned the cross. He identified himself as Merlin Lu and said he was a senior at the University of Illinois Chicago. However, UIC said Lu isn’t currently enrolled at the school.

“UIC is aware of the cross-burning incident, the criminal investigation into that incident, and the comments Merlin Lu made to the media. An individual by that name was a student at UIC but has not been enrolled with the university since the fall of 2025,” the school said in a statement.

In the NBC5 Chicago interview, the man said he wasn’t aware of the implications of the burning cross and he didn’t intend for it to have racial undertones.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, however, said the impact of the action is what mattered.

“I can’t speak to anyone’s motives,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday when asked about the interview. “We can only speak to the impact. And the impact was devastating. And so the investigation that is surrounding this cross-burning and this evil symbol of hatred, I fully expect that the investigation will unfold in whatever consequences that come out of this investigation. I hope it matches the level of, not just discomfort, but pain that it caused.”