The husband of a woman shot in the head near a Home Depot store in a busy Chicago shopping district Tuesday morning said the incident all started when he honked at someone to move their vehicle.
Police confirmed the shooting started around 9:30 a.m. in the 200 block of West 87th Street. There, a 41-year-old woman was struck in the head by gunfire while inside a vehicle, police said.
The woman was taken in critical condition to an area hospital and no one was in custody, according to authorities.
The shooting took place near a Home Depot, AutoZone, Starbucks and several other stores.
Area Ald. Ronnie Moseley also said the situation was the result of a road rage incident that escalated.
Jesus Garcia told NBC Chicago that he was in a vehicle with his wife and 15-year-old son when there was a confrontation near the parking lot. Someone in the other vehicle had a gun.
"I blew the horn to tell him to move it…and the guy came out of the vehicle. He was aggressive and took the gun and hit me in the face," Jesus Garcia said in Spanish, which was then translated by his family's pastor, Abemail Diaz. "I tried to protect my family – then the guy started shooting everywhere …and unfortunately [my] wife got hit in the head."
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Police said eight shell casings were found at the scene. The Garcia family's Dodge Ram was left with a bullet hole that could be seen on the passenger side, where Sylvia Garcia was shot.
Jesus Garcia said his wife runs a baking business and is a chaplain. She remained in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.
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