By JORDAN OWEN and MATTHEW HENDRICKSON
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Abel Melesio | family photo
Father of five Abel Melesio was shot to death Thursday morning while watering the lawn of his home in the Southwest Side Gage Park neighborhood.
About 11:30 a.m., the 46-year-old Melesio was in front of his home watering in the 5600 block of South Richmond when a black Cadillac SUV drove by and someone inside fired shots, according to authorities and community activist Andrew Holmes.
His family heard the gunfire and ran outside to find Melesio shot twice and lying in the grass, Holmes said. His daughter rode with him in the ambulance to Holy Cross Hospital.
Melesio was pronounced dead there at 11:45 a.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
“They’re in shock, total shock,” Holmes said of Melesio’s family.
Melesio was the father of five children—the oldest is 28 and the youngest 15.
The family can’t believe anyone would want to shoot him, and are asking neighbors who have surveillance systems to provide video to police in hope of catching the shooter, Holmes said.
“They’re hoping someone captured something,” he said.
The killing of Melesio broke a streak of nearly 72 hours in the city without a fatal shooting. Before that, the last gun-related homicide occurred about noon on Monday in East Garfield Park.
Holmes asked anyone with information to call the Chicago Survivors tip line at (800) 883-5587, or Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.