By DANIEL BROWN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Police investigate a fatal shooting that started in a bar in Chatham early Thursday. | Daniel Brown/Sun-Times
Marvin Lee was trying to apologize when he was shot to death early Thursday following an argument inside a bar in Chatham.
The 30-year-old Lee was inside Murphy’s Lounge in the 7600 block of South Cottage Grove about 2:40 a.m. when he got into an argument with two other men, according to authorities and witnesses.
The argument spilled out onto the street, at which point one of the men pulled a gun and shot him in the head, Chicago Police said.
Lee, of the 6100 block of South Michigan Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:52 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Marvin Lee | Facebook
The crime scene stretched for half a block on Cottage Grove between 76th and 77th. The body could be seen lying in the street covered with a white sheet; and five or six shell casings surrounded a blue clothing donation bin across the street from the bar.
One of the man’s friends, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the two were drinking with a group of friends in Murphy’s Lounge when they got into a fight with another group of men.
He said his friend knew some of the men in the other group, and the fight de-escalated before everyone left the bar.
“Everything was fine…[and] they went to their car.”
Then, he said, when everyone was in their cars, the victim got out and walked over to apologize to the other men. While he was talking to them, someone in the group punched the victim. The witness said he joined the fight to help his friend, and in the ensuing altercation, someone from the other group started shooting.
“I heard at least five or six shots–point blank,” the man said. “And then another guy started shooting at me from across the street. After that, they hopped in their car … and took off.”
Lee was a “stand-up dude, hard-working,” he said. “We lost a good one.”