SOUTH SHORE — An 80-year-old retired preacher died after being shot in his face by a fellow resident of his retirement home — another preacher who uses a wheelchair, police and other residents said.
At 6:22 a.m. Monday, an 80-year-old man was found unconscious by officers with a gunshot wound to his face in the 2800 block of East 77th Place, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Acquaintances identified the man as Allen H. Smith, a retired minister from a congregation in Northwest Indiana, who had lived in the retirement home since 2006.
A resident had found the man unconscious in the parking lot behind Senior Suites of Rainbow Beach, 2804 E. 77th St., according to Edith Acevedo-Burgess, a two-year resident of the facility.
Multiple residents identified the shooter as another retired preacher, who was also elderly and uses a wheelchair.
After the shooting, Acevedo-Burgess saw the suspected shooter's car leave the parking lot, she said. The men had argued frequently, but the shooting still took her by surprise.
"I'm concerned about our safety," she said. "There's a sign right out front of the building that says no guns. I don't even know how he had it."
Jamie Weems, another resident of the home, said the two men often argued, sometimes about religious topics.
"They just talked a lot, and almost all they talked about was religion," Weems said. "I didn't think much of it, but I guess this is what it come to."
No one is in custody, police said.
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