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Chicago Reaches 500 Murders in 2012 With Belmont Craigin Man's Death

By Quinn Ford | December 28, 2012 8:00am | Updated on December 28, 2012 3:50pm
 Nathaniel Jackson was shot and killed Thursday outside Noah Food, a corner store at Augusta Boulevard and Lavergne Avenue.
Nathaniel Jackson was shot and killed Thursday outside Noah Food, a corner store at Augusta Boulevard and Lavergne Avenue.
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DNAinfo/Quinn Ford

AUSTIN — The shooting death of a man in Austin Thursday marked the city's 500th murder of the year, police said Friday.

Nathaniel Jackson, of the 4700 block of West Armitage Avenue, was shot multiple times about 9 p.m., officials said. The Belmont Cragin man was standing on West Augusta Boulevard and North Lavergne Avenue outside of Noah Foods, a convenience store, when shots rang out, police and the store owner said.

Store owner Tawfik Salman was behind the counter of Noah Foods when he heard the shots. He said his store was filled with people at the time.

"I didn't see anything," Salman said. "We just hear the 'pop' noise. Four or five shots and we all dropped to the ground."

Jackson, 40, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:18 a.m. Friday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Yolanda Wilkeson, a nearby resident, said she saw police taping off the crime scene on her way home Thursday night.

"I've been around here for almost 20 years," Wilkeson said. "I'm surprised because it doesn't usually happen around here."

The slaying pushes the city's homicide toll to 500 in 2012, the most in four years. In 2008, there were 513 murders, according to Chicago Police Department records.

Wilkeson said the grim milestone makes her think of her family.

"I got a son, so it makes me more alert to watch my son and watch it around here," she said. "You never know what might happen."