Police say gunfire was fired into a South Side apartment before dawn, killing 45-year-old Antwan Washington as his family slept nearby.
CHICAGO, Ill. — A 45-year-old father of five was killed inside his Englewood home early March 28 when shots were fired into the apartment from a gray sedan, police said, leaving his fiancée and children to confront a sudden loss in the place they had recently moved to build a new start.
For Jennifer Lacey, the killing turned an ordinary workday morning into a homicide investigation that still has no public motive and no announced arrests. The victim, Antwan Washington, had been getting ready for work while Lacey and four of their boys slept in another room, according to family accounts. The shooting has drawn attention because it happened inside the family’s home, a place they said they believed was safe, and because Washington’s death left behind five children, funeral costs and new fear about whether the family was targeted.
Lacey said Washington was on the couch with coffee and the television on before sunrise, following a routine he kept before heading to work at Chipotle. Around 5 a.m., gunfire tore into the apartment near 57th Street and May Street, shattering that routine in seconds. Their 11-year-old son woke first and noticed damage in the living room. Lacey said she went to wake Washington, thinking he had slept through the noise. “From the position he was sitting, it looked like he was asleep,” Lacey said. “So I tapped him, like, ‘Babe, get up. You have to get to work.’” She said he then fell to the side, and she realized he had been shot in the head. Washington was pronounced dead at the scene, and the apartment quickly became a crime scene as officers and investigators moved through the block.
Police initially said someone in a gray sedan drove by and opened fire into the home, then fled north on May Street. A police report described two people getting out of a gray four-door sedan and firing handguns into the apartment. Authorities have not publicly explained that difference, and they had not announced arrests by Thursday. What investigators have said is that shell casings were recovered near the intersection and that Area One detectives are handling the case. Family members said a police POD camera stands near the corner, and Lacey said she hopes footage from that system can help show who was involved and whether the shooting was directed at their unit. She said the family had moved into the apartment in December and had not been involved in disputes. “We don’t do anything, we don’t bother anyone,” she said, describing a household centered on work, school and caring for their children.
Washington’s death landed hardest inside the family circle that defined much of his daily life. Lacey said they had been together for 12 years and were planning to marry this year. She described him as a steady provider who put others first and tried to keep the family moving forward. Their hopes for 2026 had included settling into the home, advancing at work and, she said, maybe trying for a daughter after raising four boys together. The family also said Washington leaves behind five children in all, along with parents and siblings. In interviews, Lacey returned again and again to the same point: that the violence did not just take one man from a block on the South Side, but removed a father from a household that relied on his presence every day. She said her sons now must process both the shock of the shooting and the empty place Washington leaves at home.
The case also underscores how gun violence investigations can become more complicated when a victim is shot indoors and witnesses have little time to see what happened. Police have not publicly identified a motive, named suspects or said whether detectives believe Washington himself was the target, whether the apartment was struck by mistake or whether someone else in or around the building was the intended focus. Those gaps matter to the family because they shape every decision about where they will live next and how safe they feel remaining in the city. Lacey said she wants to relocate because the killing happened in the home itself. Outside support began forming almost immediately. A fundraiser organized in her name says the money is meant to help cover funeral expenses and provide stability for Washington’s children after what it calls a senseless act of violence.
By this week, the fundraiser had drawn dozens of donations and thousands of dollars, a sign of how quickly the story traveled beyond the block where Washington was killed. The campaign describes him as a manager at Chipotle, a loving partner and a devoted father who enjoyed simple time with his children. Lacey has used public interviews to press not only for tips and accountability, but also to preserve how Washington is remembered. She said he was “sweet, hardworking, and loving,” and that he often chose to provide for others before thinking about himself. Those details gave the story a human center that can get lost once detectives leave and evidence markers come up. For neighbors, the shooting brought the familiar sight of shell casings in the street. For the family, it left a far more private scene: a living room, a couch and a final morning that now divides life into before and after.
The investigation remained open Thursday, with Chicago police still reviewing evidence and no motive publicly released. The next milestone is any announcement from Area One detectives about surveillance footage, suspect information or arrests, while Washington’s family prepares for funeral arrangements and decides whether it can remain in the apartment where he was killed.
Author note: Last updated April 3, 2026.