Accident – Death – Obituary News :
Shooting Incident in North Hammond
A couple from Chicago is facing charges after a woman sitting at a traffic light in north Hammond was shot in the back the day after Christmas. Keith Love Jr. allegedly targeted a man in the area in a revenge shooting.
Charges and Allegations
Keith Love Jr. and Lavon Townes, both 34 years old, were charged with aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon, and criminal recklessness. They are currently not in custody and have a bond set at $100,000.
Details of the Incident
Security footage showed Love in a dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox, and cell phone location data linked Townes to the scene. The incident took place at State Line Avenue and Rimbach Street in Hammond, where multiple gunshots were reported.
A relative of the victim stated that she was giving the victim a ride to her boyfriend’s house when the shooting occurred. The victim was taken to a Chicago hospital for emergency surgery, with the possibility of permanent nerve damage and being immunocompromised.
Security Camera Footage
Multiple security cameras captured the Equinox parking in an alley near Rimbach Street. Love exited the vehicle and opened fire with an AR-15-type semi-automatic pistol at a man near a white truck. The intended target fled in the truck as the shooter and Townes drove away in the SUV.
Investigation and Allegations
Investigators believed the white truck’s driver was the intended target due to a previous incident involving Love and a different woman. The man involved in the shooting denied being in the area initially but later admitted to being present after receiving information about the incident.
A stray bullet from the shooting hit a second-story window in a Calumet City apartment building nearby. License plate readers tracked the Equinox from Hammond to Chicago, where Townes was located after the incident.
Townes had previously called the Chicago Police for a domestic battery incident involving her and Love. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, with no charges filed against the intended target as of yet.
For more information, contact mcolias@post-trib.com.
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