Simone McKay: 26-Year-Old Mother Of 2, Chicago State Student Shot Dead Outside Her Home In Chicago
Simone McKay, 26, was gunned down outside her home close to midnight on October 15, 2017. Police have no suspects in the case, but a neighbor believes the mother of two andChicago State biology major was targeted.
Simone "CoCo" McKay was a 26-year-old mother of two who had recently moved into a two-flat on Chicago's Far South Side. The Chicago State University student was close to graduating and was looking forward to building a life.
She kept to herself and neighbors knew her as a quiet and dignified woman.
Now, they're trying to put the pieces together after McKay was shot and killed outside her residence in a driving rain in the 9600 block of South Forest Avenue on Oct. 15, 2017. Police said she was shot in the head.
One neighbor said that he heard what sounded like firecrackers but he couldn't -- didn't -- want to believe it was something more nefarious: gunshots.
“I thought I heard what was a gunshot, and since it’s a thunderstorm going on, I thought maybe it's just thunder," Timothy King, 28, a music teacher, told the Chicago Tribune.
King said he soon came to the realization that what he had heard was a horrible tragedy as police sirens grew louder and officers congregated in the rain outside King's home. On the front steps, her body lay getting soaked by the hard rain as cops busied themselves deciphering what had happened.
Her aunt told CBS that news of her niece's death nearly shattered her. “I was turned around. I was upside down. And I had to stop and to focus to stop crying, just so I could get out the house and in the car,” Sheila McKay told the TV station. “It was like someone had kicked me in the stomach or just shot an arrow through my heart.”
Another neighbor reported hearing what sounded like people arguing before the gunshots. And another person said that McKay appeared to be trying to head indoors when she was gunned down. She did not have on a raincoat, an indication that she had not planned to be outside long.
King said the shooting had the markings of a deliberate act, not random. “It had to be targeted," King told the Tribune. "Who is out at midnight in a thunderstorm? She was in stride to enter the house.”
McKay worked part time in the Chicago Public Schools system. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Simone McKay,” CPS spokesman Michael Passman wrote in an email statement to the Tribune. “The Chicago Public Schools family is deeply saddened by this tragic loss, and crisis counseling has been made available to assist staff members during this difficult time."
Police have no suspects in the case, but they are investigating it as a domestic incident. McKay's children, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, did not appear to be home during the shooting.
If you have any information that could help the probe, please contact Chicago police.
