Prosecutors: Mecahel Holder was celebrating July 4 and a friend's birthday when fatally shot in Humboldt Park

Jeff Mayes — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 12:05:52 -0500

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Brandon Collins | Chicago Police

Mecahel Holder and two women got some beer and watched Fourth of July fireworks in Humboldt Park.

At midnight, the trio sang “Happy Birthday” for one of the women in the group, who turned 27 on July 5.

Then the celebrations turned deadly when Holder started arguing with 31-year-old Brandon Collins, Cook County prosecutors said in court Thursday.

Collins and two others began shooting at Holder, 34, who was standing in the street in the 1100 block of North Ridgeway, Assistant State’s Attorney Elena Gottreich said.

Mecahel Holder | Facebook

Holder, of the 2100 block of West 50th Place, was shot in the head and torso around 1:30 a.m., authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:44 a.m., according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The gunmen then began shooting at the car where the two women were. Both were wounded, and when they tried to drive away, they crashed the car, Gottreich said.

Police eventually helped the women out of the car and they were taken to hospitals.

The woman who was celebrating her birthday remains at Stroger Hospital in a medically induced coma, Gottreich said.

The other woman, 32, suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She identified Collins as one of the shooters, prosecutors said.

She also identified Collins as the man holding a gun in a picture she took of Collins and Holder before the murder, Gottreich said.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Collins, of the 8000 block of South Brandon Avenue, held on a $2 million bond.

Man charged with fatal shooting of Mecahel Holder during Fourth of July party in Humboldt Park

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 12:58:59 -0500

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Brandon Collins | Chicago Police

A 31-year-old man has been charged with killing Mecahel Holder and wounding two women in a shooting at a party over the Fourth of July weekend in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Brandon Collins, 31, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to Chicago Police.

Collins and the 34-year-old Holder got into an altercation at a Fourth of July celebration in the 1100 block of North Ridgeway about 1:35 a.m. July 5, according to police.

Mecahel Holder | Chicago Police

Collins shot Holder and the two women the victim had been talking to as they sat in a parked vehicle, police said.

Holder, of the 2100 block of West 50th Place, was shot in the head and torso, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:44 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A 29-year-old woman was shot in the right shoulder and was taken in serious condition to Stroger Hospital, police said. The other woman, 31, was shot in the right hand and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.

Collins, of the 8000 block of South Brandon Avenue, was scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.

Brandon Collins | Homicide Watch Chicago

Prosecutors: Mecahel Holder was celebrating July 4 and a friend's birthday when fatally shot in Humboldt Park

Man charged with fatal shooting of Mecahel Holder during Fourth of July party in Humboldt Park