Fire Extinguisher Dropped 5 Floors to Kill Homeless Man

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Sep 8, 2011 8:20PM

An Elgin man has been charged with murder for throwing a fire extinguisher from a parking deck to strike a homeless man five floors below. Richard Gibbons, 60, had been sleeping in the alley when he was awakened by the voice of Yancarlo Garcia, 23, around 1:40 a.m. Aug. 11.

The two exchanged words. The Sun-Times writes:

Police would say little about what triggered the 1:40 a.m. attack, but said Garcia was with several people in the garage when he allegedly pulled the red fire extinguisher from its mounting and threw it at Gibbons.

Garcia has been in Cook County Jail since the incident, and he has been charged with first degree murder. Gibbons was in the hospital until he died Sunday from abdominal injuries sustained in the attack.