Chicago police say 50-year-old woman fatally shot inside car on South Side may have been targeted
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 50-year-old woman who was fatally shot inside a car on the South Side Saturday has been identified, Chicago police said.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Latonia Williams, of Chicago.
Now Williams' loved ones are in search of answers to understand why someone would take the life of a woman who spent her life taking care of others.
Williams was fatally shot while sitting in her car outside her South Shore home in the 7300 block of South Bennett Avenue Saturday just before 3 p.m., police said.
"This hurt our families. It hurt our hearts," said Teanna Lewis.
Lewis and her daughter Betty are devastated by the news of their longtime neighbor and friend's death.
"She has three children. She was a grandmother, and she loved them and just gave her best to everybody," Betty Lewis said.
Police said Williams was shot in the head by someone who simply walked up to her car and opened fire.
Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood Sunday for surveillance footage, saying they believe she may have been targeted.
Williams' friends said she was happy and loved by her family and by the children she took care of.
Williams ran a home child care service. It was something she had done for years while also working at an Englewood day care center until 2018.
"She's great with them," Teanna Lewis said. "She's one of the reasons why I started doing it. She made it fun."
Betty Lewis said the children adored Williams.
"The parents loved her and I got over 100 messages. I was getting calls and that was heartbreaking because it's still unbelievable," she said.
No one is in custody at this time, police said.
Williams was one of two women shot in Chicago's 3rd District on Saturday.
A 58-year-old was struck in the back while standing on her front porch just about a mile away.
Neighbors said she's still hospitalized but expected to recover.
That shooting remains under investigation as well.
