Co-workers remember mother killed by stray bullet in SW Side cellphone store; Suspect in court Tuesday
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago hospital mourned the tragic death of a longtime employee, who was killed by a stray bullet inside a Southwest Side cellphone store last month.
By all accounts, Candice Dickerson was a beloved pharmacy technician and single mother of three children, ages 10, 12, and 17. Tuesday, her co-workers hosted a celebration of her life and her 14-year career at Norwegian American Hospital
Dickerson's family, including her three sons attended the ceremony, which featured a slideshow of her career highlights. The staff even had a plaque in her honor to be posted outside the pharmacy.
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Her coworkers called her fun-loving, a woman who loved to sing, dance and laugh.
Dickerson's life was cut tragically short on April 26, when she was shot and killed by a stray bullet while buying a cellphone for one of her three kids. Her two youngest children were with her at the time of the shooting.
At Tuesday's celebration her co-workers and friends shared their fondest memories of the 36-year-old mother.
"It's difficult to be here every day because Candice was a huge part of this place and even the week after she passed it was just quiet in the pharmacy, there was no talking and you could really feel her loss," Nadiyah Chaudhary, the victim's friend and co-worker.
Dickerson's father, Dwight Hamblin Sr., was at the ceremony and said he was touched by it and the love his daughter brought to so many people.
"It's just overwhelming, the show of love and support that everyone had for her. She talked about the hospital a lot. She always talked about Norwegian. It was like her second family."
Dickerson lived only a few blocks away from the cellphone store in the 5900-block of South Kedzie Avenue where she was shot and killed in Chicago's Southwest Side on April 26.
Chicago police said 23-year-old Bryant Mitchell has been accused of firing the stray bullet that killed Dickerson. Mitchell has charged with first degree murder and three counts of attempted first degree murder.
He will be in bond court Tuesday afternoon. Police said they have questioned another person of interest.
