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Family Watches as 'Humble, Loving' Man Shot and Killed in Auburn Gresham

By DNAinfo Staff on July 10, 2013 10:08am  | Updated on July 10, 2013 11:17am

 A man was shot in his head near 87th and Throop streets.
Man Shot Dead in Auburn Gresham
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AUBURN GRESHAM — Marlon Young woke up Wednesday morning planning to "pay his bills and stop by the dollar store" with his wife, his mother-in-law said.

Instead, he was shot to death steps from his family's home in an apparent robbery.

"He meant everything. He was a humble man. A loving man. A home-focused man," said Helen Banks. "To see him killed before my eyes, it feels like my head is sinking."

Young, a 39-year-old father who worked odd jobs, was shot in his head near 87th and Throop streets about 9:20 a.m. and pronounced dead on the scene, said Officer John Mirabelli, a police spokesman.

Though the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to identify the victim, Banks identified him as Young.

The 60-year-old woman was standing on the front porch of the family's home talking to her daughter, and Young's wife of 15 years, Mary Young.

Young was getting into his dark-gray Ford Five Hundred sedan, while his wife stopped at the gate to talk to her mother.

Within moments, a light-gray car pulled up behind Young and three people jumped out, Banks said.

"They were shooting when the doors came open," Banks said.

Banks said Young ran to a nearby parking lot of the Progressive Beulah Pentecostal Church, just across from their home, where one of the men stood over his body before fleeing with his group.

"They took his money and wallet and just left," Banks said.

After the shooting, Young's body lay covered in a white sheet in the lot. Young's son, Marlon Jr., wasn't home when his father was shot and hadn't been told of the death as of early Wednesday afternoon, Banks said.

"It's devastating because it's all over," said Andrew Holmes, who lives in the neighborhood and is director of Stop Killing Our Youth.

"Someone was killed two blocks down just last week," he added, referring to the death of William Jones.

No one was in custody, police said.

But Banks had a message for whoever killed her son-in-law.

"He was just beautiful," Banks said. "You took a fine young man from my daughter and grandson. There's a special place behind the gates of Hell for you."

Reporter Emily Morris contributed.