Man Begged Gunman Not To Shoot Him In Front Of His Kids Moment Before Slaying: Report

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 9, 2017 4:22PM

W 46th St and S Troy St / Google Maps

In a truly heartbreaking attack, a man was fatally shot in the head in Brighton Park on Tuesday afternoon as he pled with the gunman to not shoot him in front of his children, according to police and the Tribune.

The 25-year-old victim was standing on a sidewalk in the 4600 block of South Troy Street at around 1:07 p.m. when two males walked up to him, police said. The man, who was speaking with his girlfriend and kids seated inside a van, pleaded, "I'm with my kids," after one of the offenders, both teens, questioned him about his gang affiliation, according to the Tribune. One of the pair nevertheless opened fire, shooting the man in the head, shoulder and back, police said. He was taken to Mt. Sinai where he was first listed in critical condition before he was later pronounced dead.

The attackers took off on foot. Police did not have anyone in custody, as of Friday morning.

The Tribune reported the heartrending aftermath: one of the man's children, just 5 months old, didn't comprehend what she had witnessed while the older son, 2, wept for his father. And neighbors described keeping their kids inside during the warm summer stretches for fear of gang recruitment, and anxiety about launching a block party that had long been a neighborhood staple, for fear of violence.

At least 14 people were shot on Thursday, two of the them fatally. Xavier Joy, a Whitney Young alum and football player at Morehouse College, was shot and killed near the University of Chicago at around 10:08 p.m.