Dozens of community members gathered for a night of prayer Friday at a Grand Crossing church following a mass shooting that killed two people only blocks away earlier this week.
Ald. William Hall (6th) and Pastor John Boston led prayers for the community and families of victims of violence during the event at Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church, 7000 S. Michigan Ave.
“We’re gathering tonight to calm the ward, people are concerned, people are afraid so we’re turning to our faith,” Hall said. “Tonight is a night of both faith and action.”
Hall dedicated the service to the families of the two men, both innocent bystanders, shot and killed during an attack Monday afternoon in the 7100 block of South State Street.
Simon Willie Brown Sr., 59, and Jon Rucker, 47, were fatally shot. Brown, wounded in the abdomen, died shortly after. Rucker was shot in the head and died Wednesday.
Two others, including the gunman, were wounded in the shooting Monday afternoon.
Trivell Pruitt, 53, was arrested on suspicion of opening fire about 5:40 p.m. Monday during an argument with a 30-year-old man. That man was wounded in the leg, Chicago police said.
A short time later, police say Pruitt exchanged shots with a second shooter and was hit in the leg. Officers found Pruitt inside a nearby Subway restaurant about 8:30 p.m. Pruitt was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition. The second shooter remains at large.
Brown’s son, Simon Willie Brown Jr., sat in the front pew during the service, He’s grateful for the community’s support.
“We’ve been getting a lot of love,” Brown said. “I haven’t felt alone since everything happened. ... I’ve been getting a lot of support from my family and my friends and now the community and the church. I’m just so grateful for everything.”
Instead of turning to one another during difficult times, many people isolate themselves when community support is most important.
“Our goal is for people to leave this moment wanting to stay connected with each other like we used to do,” Hall said. “We used to check in on each other but now we see more isolation and when things are isolated and people are not communicating and caring it leaves room for crime and mayhem.”
Brown’s niece, Aisha Miles, says she’s shocked at seeing how the community has showed their support since her uncle’s passing.
“People have been really showing up,” Miles said. “My uncle was a dynamite man and I can see him all around in all of this.”
Claudette Guthrie, 64, who lives in Chatham, attended the service to show support for the families of the shooting victims.
“The murders, the crime, it needs to be brought down and the only way we can do that is by doing this, by bringing our support,” Claudette Guthrie. “We need to bring the South Side together.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct the name of the church, Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church.
