Three men were killed and another critically wounded in a shooting that started as an apparent argument over cigarettes Wednesday at a convenience store in West Garfield Park.
They were standing on a sidewalk in front of a store about 2:48 p.m. in the 4200 block of West Madison Street when someone in a white sedan opened fire, according to Chicago police and fire officials.
Charles Boston, 19, Tion Lewis, 22, and Quashun Nolton, 23, were struck and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where they died, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. All three lived in South Austin, just west of where they were shot.
A fourth man, 25, was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.
At least 40 evidence markers were scattered throughout the Quick Drive Thru Food Mart’s parking lot, where shell casings could be found. A pool of blood could be seen in front of the store’s entrance.
A group of people huddled at the corner store across the street. They all declined to comment, except one man, who was visibly upset. The man, who declined to share his identity, pleaded for journalists and the city to do more for communities affected by gun violence.
“Stop closing schools. Open them back up. Do something about the vacant lots. We need people here not just when there are killings. We need people to do more,” he said.
Sybil Mason, a 56-year-old woman who lives a block from the shooting, said she was down the street when she heard at least 15 gunshots.
“When I got here girls were screaming, guys were screaming, and there was a guy around in a puddle of blood,” she said. “I couldn’t see the other guys who got shot because it got crowded really quick.”
Mason said she heard the conflict arose when two men asked another man if the store sold cigarettes. When he said they sold cigarettes across the street, the two men opened fire on him.
Mason added that she’s lived throughout the area for the last 40 years and is looking to move so her family can get away from the violence.
“There’s shooting all around here. I’m hoping for an end or to get the heck out of here,” Mason said. “Everywhere you go, you get the same results.”
Mason said her daughter, 33, lives in the apartment unit below her with two sons, ages 4 and 5. They’re trying to relocate back to Bloomington, where her daughter used to live.
“I keep telling her to go on back to Bloomington, and she’s trying,” Mason said. “We have lost all of our good young men here. It’s the same cycle over and over again.”
No arrests have been reported. Area North detectives are investigating.
