CHICAGO — A Chicago man pleads for his life before being killed in front of his children.
“I’m with my kids.” These were some of the last words pled by a man before being shot in the head by two teens Thursday afternoon.
The Chicago Tribune reported that a 25 year-old man was talking to his girlfriend and kids through a van window when two teens strolled up beside the vehicle.
Police and multiple witnesses said the teens asked the man what he was “about” or what gang he belonged to.
After responding, “I’m with my kids,” one teen turned to the other ordering him to shoot.
Again, the man implored, “I’m with my kids,” while his girlfriend echoed the same plea, “He’s with his kids.”
The teen took out his handgun and shot the man in the forehead. According to the police, the teen-gunman stood over the downed man and shot him two more times in the chest.
A neighbor ran outside to see what had happened, and after finding the man unresponsive, walked back home.
The victim’s 2 year-old and a 5 month-old children were rushed inside by their aunt. She tried to calm the panicked 2 year-old in the process. According to the aunt, the child screamed and cried for over an hour.
This shooting adds to the increasing violence that Chicago neighborhoods like this one have become accustomed to. As a result, many neighbors shared their concerns with the Tribune.
“Everybody is scared,” said the man who first attended to the victim, “Nobody on this block is going to let their kids go outside unless they’re outside with them, and they’re not going to let them out of their sight.”
“Either you have your kid in the house, or you let them go outside and they join a gang,” neighbor Olivia said. “We kept ours in the house.”
Moreover, Olivia usually organizes the Summer block party for the neighborhood, but the rise in violence has her questioning whether it’s a good idea. “I don’t want this on my conscience.”
(File photo)