GAGE PARK — A frame shop owner killed at his South Side warehouse Sunday was the second business owner in the industrial district slain since 2013.
Herbert Goode, the longtime owner of Silver Cloud Galleries in River North, was shot and killed Sunday at the Gage Park location of his business in the 2300 block of West 57th Street. Goode was shot once in the neck about 2:30 p.m., police said.
Shadi Elayyan, who runs his automotive business in the South Side building owned by Goode, called his 66-year-old landlord a friend. Elayyan and his brother Abraham were the last people to see him alive, lying on the ground after being shot.
"All I really saw was his eyes — it just keeps playing in my head," Elayyan said.
The brothers said they were alerted to Goode's attack by a knock on the door shortly after the shots were fired. They spotted Goode's van parked nearby with its door wide open and feared the worst.
Elayyan said Goode's cell phone was still in his hand as he lay beneath a light post less than half a block away.
"He was saying, 'up, up,'" Elayyan said, wiping away tears Monday afternoon. "I took his hand, until the ambulance arrived and his hand got cold."
According to Elayyan, Goode was a humble, "hands-on" family man who "would go out of his way to do anything for you."
"He had a heart," Elayyan added, noting that Goode would stop by the shop to check on his friends and collect rent from tenants about once a week, always to a warm reception.
But Elayyan answered the door to his shop apprehensively Monday, a nervous gesture that he repeated with each subsequent knock at the door.
And Elayyan has reason to be cautious — he remembers Michael Kozel, the longtime owner of a nearby muffler shop who was shot and killed in January 2013.
"After that we put buzzers on the door, but now I don't even walk to door," he said. "They pretend to be customers — you never know who it could be."
"It's just people that are hungry, starving," he said. "I don't want to be here anymore ... I just want to move out of this place."
Goode's Silver Cloud Galleries' location at 20 W. Ohio St. was closed Monday afternoon.
"We are closed Monday due to a family emergency," the sign read. "We will resume regular hours tomorrow. Thank you for you understanding and kindness during this time."
Police had no further details Tuesday morning.
