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Young Man Gunned Down Near Park Where He Played Basketball

By Jackie Kostek | January 7, 2013 11:43pm
 Antonio Singleton, 22, was shot dead Sept. 15 in the South Chicago park where he liked to shoot hoops.
Antonio Singleton, 22, was shot dead Sept. 15 in the South Chicago park where he liked to shoot hoops.
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CHICAGO — Antonio Singleton was born and raised in an apartment two blocks from Marquette Park. He spent his days shooting hoops with friends in the park, and on a cool fall night in September, he lost his life there.

Police said the shooting happened about 7:15 p.m. on September 25. An unknown gunman approached Singleton on a bike and shot him in his side. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Chimere Karmin, Singleton’s cousin, said she didn’t think Singleton was affiliated with a gang.

“He’s just from the neighborhood,” said Karmin. “He knew everyone over there and they knew him.”

But Singleton sometimes ran into trouble with the law. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to a charge of residential burglary and was sentenced to attend a boot camp. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to reckless conduct, for which he received a year's conditional discharge, court records show.

Karmin and Singleton grew up in the same apartment building near the park, and when he was little, Singleton would run from his third-floor apartment down the stairs to her second-floor apartment and surprise her at the door, just to “hang out.”

Karmin said Singleton grew up to be a “very handsome young man, very sweet, kind, and family oriented.” Although he wasn’t working, he did earn a GED and was writing and performing hip-hop that he posted on YouTube, under his rap name Murda Mookie.

Melvina Mayo, the victim’s godmother, said his passion for rap and hip-hop started at a young age.

“He used to rap his ABC’s,” Mayo said, laughing.