An 18-year-old was fatally shot in the head and a 90-year-old man was killed in a crash in separate incidents in Gary last week.
On July 25, Jahlein Towner, 18, and a friend were walking south on Colfax, near his house when a man in a pickup yelled something at them, according to court records. The pair thought they knew the man, so they walked up to the truck. The driver fired multiple shots at the two men, the affidavit states, and Towner was struck in the head with a bullet.
Dontrell Lamar Williams of Gary is charged with attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, but his charge may be upgraded due to Towner’s death.
Towner was intubated at Methodist Hospitals Northlake since he couldn’t breathe on his own, and his injuries were considered life-threatening, records state, so he was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he received surgery to relieve pressure from brain swelling. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26 p.m. on July 31, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
On July 31, Bernard Shoemaker, 90, was driving on near Chicagoland Independent Auction, at 7900 Melton Road, when he was struck by a semi. Shoemaker suffered multiple injuries, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, and he was pronounced dead at 7:43 p.m. at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
