ENGLEWOOD — Tarance Franklin died on his 22nd birthday.
Before celebrating with family, Franklin and his oldest brother had gone to a Marathon gas station in the 1200 block of South 59th Street where Franklin “had words” with a young man, said Franklin’s mother, Vanessa Franklin.
Minutes later, Franklin was shot dead, she said.
Franklin, of the 5900 block of South Aberdeen Street, died Feb. 8 from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“This guy came back and killed my baby on the gas station property,” Vanessa Franklin said. “He shot my baby seven times. He shot my baby’s brains out.”
No one has been charged with Franklin’s murder, according to Chicago police data.
For Vanessa Franklin, it adds to the pain, she said.
“That man killed my baby and is still running around on the streets while my baby is in the ground,” she said.
Franklin, the youngest of three, didn’t have big plans to celebrate his birthday. Instead, he was going to spend the night drinking with his family.
The high school graduate was trying to find work, his mother said.
She said her son was not in a gang. Franklin had a conviction for a 2011 felony burglary and had been sentenced to probation, court records show.
Franklin was the father to two young children and they still ask about their “Dada,” Vanessa Franklin said. She tells them he’s asleep and reads the children his obituary regularly.
“Things I buy for them I tell them their Dada bought for them,” Vanessa Franklin said.
“If I had a chance to let my baby live and I’d go, I would do it,” she said.
