Bryan Christopher Watson, 35, a security guard, died after being pushed down a flight of stairs while trying to break up a fight at Hubbard Inn, a bar and restaurant at 110 W. Hubbard St. in River North, on the Near North Side, early on Monday, March 9, 2026. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records his death as a homicide.
Police said a woman first called 911 to say she had been injured. A 32-year-old man was in an altercation with a group of people about 1:20 a.m., and Watson, who was working security, tried to intervene. The man then allegedly pushed him down the stairs. According to police reports, Watson got up after the fall, "possibly" having hit his head, walked into another room, grabbed his chest and collapsed. Paramedics treated him at the club for up to 40 minutes before taking him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said a doctor determined he died of "traumatic arrest"; the medical examiner's office had not ruled on the cause and manner of death when those reports were published.
Responding officers arrested the couple involved in the fight, including the 32-year-old man who allegedly pushed Watson. Police sought to charge him with first-degree murder, but prosecutors declined, citing the need for a toxicology report, and he was released without charges. His name was not released, and no reward was announced.
Watson was the oldest of eight siblings. He attended J. Sterling Morton West High School, where he played football,. He worked three jobs: as a driver for his church in Matteson, as an assistant manager at a dollar store in Matteson, and as a security guard at Hubbard Inn, where he had worked since August. "He was a peacemaker, and so for him to leave here, while trying to make peace, it's very heartbreaking," his sister Aleshya Brister said. Weeks before he died, he had been trying to bring his siblings back together; they planned to meet on what would have been his 36th birthday, April 2. His brother Jeremy started a GoFundMe for his funeral, calling him a "hardworking, loving, caring big brother."
Hubbard Street in River North is the heart of one of Chicago's busiest nightlife districts, and the bars there are crowded with patrons, staff and security workers in the early morning hours. Many people inside the building that night, and cameras inside and outside it, may have seen how the fight began and how Watson was pushed.
The killing came as Chicago's homicide count was falling sharply. The city recorded about 590 homicides in 2024 and 416 in 2025, the fewest in about 60 years. Chicago police reported clearing 56 percent of homicides in 2024, though that figure counts cases closed without criminal charges, so many families are still waiting for an arrest even as overall violence declines.
No criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Bryan Christopher Watson could be found in news archives or public records. Months later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Patrons and workers who were at Hubbard Inn early on March 9, 2026, especially anyone who saw the fight on the stairs or recorded video, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Chicago Police Department's anonymous tip line at (833) 408-0069 or submit a tip online at CPDTIP.com, or contact Cook County Crime Stoppers at (800) 535-STOP (7867).
