Paris Brown | Homicide Watch Chicago

Family: Paris Brown shot dead in car she hoped to use for family road trips

Michael Lansu — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 21:17:16 -0500

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Paris Brown had just dropped off dinner for her young daughter and was about to go on a dinner date with her fiance when she was fatally shot outside her Greater Grand Crossing home last week, family said.

Brown, 21, was sitting in a parked car outside her home in the 7100 block of South Perry Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood when an SUV pulled up alongside and somebody inside opened fire about 10:55 p.m. June 9, authorities said.

She died less than an hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. A man in the car -- identified by family as Brown's fiance -- was shot in the back and lower leg and treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.

Brown had just bought the car three months ago, and the couple were going on a dinner date when the gunfire erupted, family said.

Brown's mother, Phyllis Hawkins, said the couple had dropped off McDonald's for their young daughter and just got back into the car when she heard gunshots. Hawkins said she ran to a window and saw the remainder of the attack.

"I was just shouting and screaming when I heard the shots because I knew," Hawkins said. "I ran out the door to the car, no hesitation. I witnessed my daughter there, unresponsive ... I was calling her name. It was probably the last thing she heard."

Prior to the shooting, Brown and Hawkins had been planning a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for Brown's 3-year-old daughter.

Brown supported her daughter by working as a customer service representative for a collections agency in northwest suburban Schaumburg. She had her own apartment, a growing savings account and a car, family said.

Brown wanted to get married and take road trips in that car. Instead that car is where she was shot to death.

"It hurt me bad," her friend LaKesha Clifford said. "Paris was my friend. She always smiled. She was pretty. I ain't never found nobody that understood me after all these years ... My Paris, she was my angel and I'm gonna miss her real bad."

Paris Brown / Photo from Twitter

Brown was an only child, but grew up in a house with ample aunts, uncles and cousins -- some of whom were close enough in age to be siblings, her uncle James Hawkins said. As a baby, Brown rarely cried, a trait that continued into adulthood.

"I will say that Paris was never lacking for strength," James Hawkins said. "She was like a rose that grew out of the concrete."

Gangs and gunfire in the neighborhood prompted James Hawkins to suggest moving the family to the suburbs, but Brown always disregarded talk of leaving the city she loved.

"At this time, suburbia might just be the place we need to be," James Hawkins said. "We need peace and quiet. That's something that's sticking with me now, that maybe we should have packed up and moved away from the city earlier, gotten away from this violence."

Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Video by Peter Holderness

WEEK IN REVIEW: Eight killed throughout Chicago

Michael Lansu — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 08:47:23 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Five men and three women were murdered throughout Chicago last week.

At least three of the deaths were classified as domestic related, police said.

The most recent killing happened when 56-year-old Louis Winn was stabbed during a domestic dispute at his home in the 10000 block of South Morgan Street about 9:10 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. He died less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

On Saturday, 17-year-old Brandon Peterson was shot in the head and leg while standing with a group of people in the 3100 block of West Polk Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood about 12:05 a.m., authorities said.

Peterson, of the 3000 block of West Polk Street, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County a short time later, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

On Friday, 27-year-old Dewey Knox was shot during during a drive-by in the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue about 11:55 p.m., authorities said.

Knox, of the 1400 block of South Troy Street, was shot in the back and died at Mount Sinai Hospital early Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Damian Williams was shot in the 5700 bock of West Augusta Boulevard in the Austin community about 8:55 p.m., authorities said. A 23-year-old man was also critically wounded.

Williams, of the 5900 block of West Augusta Boulevard, was shot multiple times in the chest and died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.

On Tuesday, 26-year-old Brett Ewing was shot while driving in the 200 block of West 72nd Street in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood about 3 p.m., authorities said. A 4-year-old boy was also wounded.

Ewing, of the 6800 block of South Perry Avenue, was shot four times and died at Stroger Hospital at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

On Monday, 21-year-old Paris Brown was shot while sitting in a vehicle in the 7300 block of South Perry Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood about 10:55 p.m., authorities said. A man was also wounded in the shooting.

Brown, who lived on the block, was shot multiple times died at Stroger Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.

The killings started when LaQuisha Hickman, 37, and Nykole Loving, 23, were fatally shot during a domestic dispute in the 3500 block of West 79th Place in the Ashburn community about 8:55 a.m. Monday, authorities said. An 18-year-old man was also wounded.

Hickman had filed a domestic battery report with Chicago Police officers against her longtime boyfriend Edward Prince following a quarrel the night before -- apparently over her ending their relationship, officials say. Prince, 36, left the house before police arrived, but returned the next morning and went on a shooting spree, authorities say.

Prince then turned the gun on himself and was dead on the scene.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 172 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including seven people killed by police.

Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Paris Brown killed in Greater Grand Crossing shooting

Michael Lansu — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 11:56:55 -0500

Paris Brown was killed in a Monday night shooting in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood that also left a man wounded.

Brown, 21, and a man in his 20s were sitting in a parked vehicle in the 7300 block of South Perry Avenue when a dark SUV pulled up and someone inside shot them about 10:55 p.m., authorities said.

Brown, who lived on the block, was shot multiple times died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County less than an hour later, authorities said.

The man was shot in the back and leg and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.

The SUV fled north on Perry Avenue and nobody is in custody for the murder, police said.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire