Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Man Gunned Down In Humboldt Park Less Than a Week After His Son Was Killed

By Quinn Ford | July 31, 2014 12:05pm | Updated on July 31, 2014 7:45pm
  Police taped off the driveway where they found a 34-year-old man after he'd been fatally shot in Humboldt Park, police said.
Police taped off the driveway where they found a 34-year-old man after he'd been fatally shot in Humboldt Park, police said.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Quinn Ford

CHICAGO — The father of a 13-year-old boy who was killed on the West Side last week died Thursday morning after he too was fatally shot.

At 9:23 a.m., 34-year-old Samuel Walker Sr. was being chased on foot by a gunman in the 4100 block of West Crystal Street when he was shot in his head and body, police said.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene at 9:37 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Police believe the shooting may be gang-related, and the 34-year-old man was a documented gang member, authorities said.

Family members said Walker was the father of 13-year-old Samuel Walker Jr., who was killed last Friday evening in North Lawndale.

About 6 p.m., Samuel Jr. was standing with a group of people in the 700 block of South California Avenue when someone opened fire, shooting seven people. He was shot in his head and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Supt. Garry McCarthy later said the shooting may have stemmed from a fight earlier in the day at summer school. Neighbors said Walker was attending summer school and was set to graduate from grade school this week.

Police initially said the shooting that claimed the 13-year-old's life was gang-related, but family members on Thursday said the younger Walker was never a member of a gang.

Family members declined to speak further about the death of 13-year-old's father.

Samuel Walker Sr. was killed Thursday in Humboldt Park, about four miles from where his son had been killed six days earlier.

Thursday afternoon, police tape was still hung across a driveway of a home in the 4100 block of West Crystal Street where neighbors said Walker fell after he was shot.

The woman who owns the home where Walker died said she was inside with her kids when she heard six to seven gun shots.

"It was a shock to us. We didn't know where it was coming from," said Trina, who asked her last name not be used. "I told my kids 'Get down! Get down!'"

Trina said she was getting ready to go to work when the gunfire erupted. Instead of working, she spent her Saturday cleaning the blood from her driveway. The fire department had sprayed it for her, she said.

But flies still lingered by the stain, so she poured ammonia over the spot. Trina said she tried to stop her children from seeing Walker's body on the driveway, but the kids saw it.

Thursday afternoon, Trina said she felt ambivalent about her children witnessing Chicago's violence first-hand.

"It's hard because they need to see what's going on, and they need to not see what's going on," she said.

She said she hoped being exposed to the costs of gun violence will prevent her own children from going down that path.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: