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Elderly Man Gunned Down in Roseland Was Waiting for Dialysis Appointment

By Geoff Ziezulewicz | March 2, 2013 8:43am | Updated on March 2, 2013 7:44pm
 William Strickland, 72, was fatally shot outside his Roseland home early Saturday. Neighbors recalled Strickland as a man who was a good neighbor and who loved his grandchildren.
William Strickland, 72, was fatally shot outside his Roseland home early Saturday. Neighbors recalled Strickland as a man who was a good neighbor and who loved his grandchildren.
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DNAinfo/Geoff Ziezulewicz

ROSELAND — The 72-year-old Roseland man killed in an apparent robbery attempt Saturday was waiting for a ride to a dialysis appointment when he was gunned down, his wife said.

Neighbors recalled William Strickland as helpful and kind.


"He was a good husband, a good father and a good grandfather," said Ron Stovall, who identified himself as a relative, outside Strickland's home.

Strickland, 72, of the 400 block of East 95th Street, was shot multiple times outside his home at about 3:30 a.m., according to authorities.

He was pronounced dead on the scene at 4 a.m., authorities said.

Police said Strickland was standing in a gangway in the 400 block of East 95th Street when was approached by two men.  Strickland was shot and killed during an apparent robbery, said Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman.

Strickland was dead on the scene, Estrada said.

No one is in custody, and Area South detectives are investigating.

Outside Strickland's home Saturday, family and neighbors remembered him as a helpful and kind man.

Leon Shears lives next door to Strickland and said he had known him since 1977, when Strickland and his wife moved in.

"He had grandkids," Leon Shears said. "That was his interest."

Strickland was born and raised in Chicago, and he stopped by regularly to chat and visit, according to Theolene Shears, Leon Shears' wife.

"We'd just compare life," she said. "How it was."

She said she called him "Bill" and that Strickland had a chihuahua named Duke.

Strickland had been on dialysis for the past five years, she said.

"We couldn't have asked for a better neighbor," she said.

Leon Shears said this is the first time anyone has been killed in the neighborhood since they moved in in 1965.

He said he was awoken by gunfire early Saturday but thought it was a neighbor shooting at an intruder.

"We've been here and we haven't had any problems," he said. "All of a sudden it's all over every neighborhood. You just can't get away from it."