Father of 3 shot to death in Auburn-Gresham

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A father of three was shot to death near his home in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

Ashton Simpson, 36, was gunned down Sunday night in the 8300-block of South Wood Street, just nine houses away from his own.

Neighbors said Simpson moved with his wife and three children here about a year ago because he had hoped it would be a safer neighborhood.

"I love it over here, so it's shocking, very shocking to me to find out that something like this happened," said Mickiea Crosswell, a neighbor.

Neighbors said Simpson was active in the neighborhood. His home bordered O'Halloren Park, which draws many families to this part of the neighborhood.

"Here's a young man trying to do the best he could, raising his three kids and he gets killed for nothing. It's awful," said Patricia Rocourt, a neighbor.

"He was a nice family man. He was crazy about his kids," said Erskin Jones, who knew the victim.

Some long-time residents were happy to see Simpson step up to help improve safety in a neighborhood that had seen problems in and around the park after dark.

"This is crazy. This is straight-up crazy. You know, the neighborhood is decent. But there's too much stuff going on in that park over there," Jones said.

"I don't understand what's going on. I have a 40-year-old son and I'm scared for him to come in and out of the house when he comes home from work," Rocourt said.

Chicago police continue to investigate, but said they believe Simpson may have been mistaken for someone else.

No one is in custody.