SOUTH SHORE — A 67-year-old man was charged in the killing of an 80-year-old retired minister at a South Shore retirement home Monday, police announced Wednesday.
At 6:22 a.m. Monday, the 80-year-old man was found unconscious by officers with a gunshot wound to his face in the 2800 block of East 77th Place, according to Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police Department spokesman. He was pronounced dead on the 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 found Smith 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.
Several retirement home residents said the shooter, who also lived in the complex, drove off after the shooting.
Ted Merchant, 67, was arrested two blocks away from the facility at 1:05 p.m. Monday, police said. He faces one count of first-degree murder.
Merchant allegedly shot the man after a "verbal altercation," police said.
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