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Rogers Park Barber Killed In Edgewater Shooting

By  Josh McGhee and Quinn Ford | July 22, 2014 7:14am | Updated on July 22, 2014 8:50pm

 Demond Parnell was found shot in his chest Monday night in the 5200 block of North Kenmore Avenue.
Demond Parnell was found shot in his chest Monday night in the 5200 block of North Kenmore Avenue.
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EDGEWATER — Demond Parnell's work station at Nennie's Hair Salon sat untouched Tuesday evening, just the way he had left it.

The 34-year-old had worked at the Howard Street barber shop for about 10 years and was scheduled to work later this week, his boss said.

But Parnell died Monday night after he was shot in Edgewater.

Around 9:55 p.m., officers were called to the 5200 block of North Kenmore Avenue, where they found Parnell unresponsive on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said.

Parnell was pronounced dead there at 10:24 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

Officials there said Parnell lived in the 1600 block of West Greenleaf Avenue, but friends said Parnell lived with his mother a few blocks from where he was fatally shot.

No one was in custody in connection the shooting as of Tuesday afternoon.

Officers have been interviewing residents in the area, 48th Ward Ald. Harry Osterman said.

Osterman released a statement Tuesday saying police believed Parnell was the intended target of a gang-related shooting. Parnell was shot once in his chest, police said, confirming reports from neighbors that they heard a single shot late Monday.

But those who knew Parnell say he was not a gang member. Devonna Williams, who worked with Parnell at Nennie's Hair Salon, said she was "hurt" to see her friend's murder labeled "gang-related."

"It hurt. It really, really hurt," Williams said as she sat by Parnell's work station Tuesday. "Dee wasn't in a gang."

She described Parnell was a good person.

"You couldn't dislike him. The way he'd joke, it'd make you love him," Williams said.

Parnell's other co-workers and boss also rejected the idea of Parnell being a gang member. Catherine, the store's owner who asked her last name not be used, said Parnell was a talented barber and definitely a jokester.

"He was the life of the shop," she said. "He had the biggest mouth. He was just so joyful, so playful."

She said Parnell, a father of six children, grew up in the Rogers Park area and attended Senn High School.

Tuesday morning, a neighbor who lived where Parnell was shot refused to give his name out of fear of retaliation but said he had heard one gunshot Monday night.

When the neighbor peeked from his window, he said he saw a man in a softball jersey who seemed to be walking home with groceries when he was shot. He said he heard loud moans coming from the man as police and ambulances arrived at the scene.

Before the shooting, the neighbor also said he heard a loud argument outside.

Osterman said he reached out to Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and Mayor Rahm Emanuel and plans to meet with them about the shooting.

"I will continue to request additional resources to aid the police in addressing and quelling the senseless violence in our neighborhood and throughout the city," Osterman said in a statement.

Anyone with information on the shooting is encouraged to contact detectives at 312-744-8200 or the 48th Ward Public Safety liaison at 773-784-5277.

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