by Charles Gladden

CHICAGO, USA, Thurs. June 1, 2023

An elderly Belizean woman was fatally wounded when she was caught in a crossfire in a shootout in the Auburn Gresham community on the far south side of Chicago, USA. On Memorial Day weekend in the US the deceased, Gale Stephen, 69, a mother of 5 and retired nurse assistant was driving in the neighborhood on Saturday, May 27, en route to a funeral home, when shots were fired indiscriminately towards a gas station, killing her.

According to Chicago Sun-Times, a local newspaper outlet in Chicago, three bystanders were also injured while standing near the gas station as a result of the shots, and were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

At the scene, officers witnessed a motionless Stephen inside her car at the driver’s side with a single gunshot wound to her chest. She was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Centre, where she was pronounced dead.

Stephen was born in Belize and relocated to the States where she raised five children – three daughters and two sons – on her own. She worked as a certified nursing assistant, often helping elderly people through their final days. Stephen’s family has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her funeral and burial.