A pregnant woman who was shot last weekend at a West Side gas station told detectives she was likely targeted because of her “pending testimony” in the murder case of a relative.
The relative, 38-year-old Markineta C. Harrington, died June 30 of blunt force injuries to her head she received during an assault, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, which ruled her death a homicide.
The March 30 shooting happened during the most violent weekend in 2024 so far as the 31-year-old “several months” pregnant woman and a 32-year-old man filled up at the GoLo gas station at 3731 W. Roosevelt Road.
As they pumped gas, a white Infiniti pulled into the station and four assailants got out and began shooting into their vehicle before speeding east on Roosevelt Road, police said.
After shielding two children, a 1-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, from gunfire, the 32-year-old man who’d been shot multiple times jumped into the driver’s seat and drove them to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
The man was shot nine times — in his shoulder, both forearms and left torso — and was also said to be in serious condition, police said.
The two children and the unborn fetus were not wounded, police said, but the pregnant woman suffered gunshots to her right shoulder, right hip and left arm, leaving her in serious condition.
Nearly 40 shell casings were recovered, most of which were from a rifle, police said.
A GoLo staffer said they have video surveillance of the attack that they shared with police. Nobody was in custody as of Friday.
The pregnant woman told detectives she was a witness to a homicide, and the shooting could possibly be in “retaliation for her pending testimony,” according to a police report.
Last summer, about 1 a.m. June 29 in the first block of North Mayfield Avenue in the Austin neighborhood, the now pregnant victim, Harrington and David Wayne Bynum were arguing and fighting on a front porch when Harrington fell backward down a flight of stairs, police said.
Harrington’s relative called 911 twice and gave “conflicting” accounts of what happened as Harrington was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. the next day.
By late July, David Wayne Bynum was charged with Harrington’s murder. According to court documents, Bynum allegedly “pushed” Harrington down the stairs, fracturing her skull.
Bynum has remained in custody at Cook County Jail, but in February he filed an appeal to be released, claiming that he didn’t push Harrington and alcohol had been a factor in her falling down the stairs, according to court documents.
Bynum and Harrington had been in a relationship for 10 years and married for about five before the incident, Cook County prosecutors said in their petition to have Bynum held in custody pending trial. They have two children together.
Prosecutors alleged that three children, including Bynum and Harrington’s children, witnessed Bynum “shove the victim with both hands” and gave “forensic interviews” regarding what they saw.
The now pregnant shooting victim gave statements to officers about Bynum’s demeanor after the incident, stating that he was walking around saying the fall could have been an accident, according to court documents. She also said she didn’t notice anything Harrington could have tripped on, but it was unclear if the pregnant victim was also a witness to the alleged shove.
Bynum’s appeal claims the children contradicted each other’s statements about what they saw and who was present during the incident and “were therefore not reliable.”
The appeal states the evidence does not prove “the incident was anything other than an accident or at worst recklessness.”
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office wouldn’t comment on pending litigation.
The next court date in the case was set for Monday for discovery motions, in which both parties exchange information about witnesses and evidence that will be presented at trial.
