A 23-year-old man fatally shot a church volunteer as she got out of her car last month in a West Side attack that was apparently unprovoked, according to prosecutors.
Baseer Muhammad is charged with first-degree murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault in the Feb. 28 killing of Tracey Allen Showers, 55.
Muhammad and another person wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet allegedly stole a car at gunpoint from a couple in Oak Park, hours before the shooting in the 5500 block of West Le Moyne Street, Cook County prosecutors said Saturday during a live streamed bail hearing.
The stolen Audi was seen shortly before the shooting in the nearby 1400 block of North Lorel Avenue, where Muhammad allegedly fired three shots at a person sitting in another vehicle, prosecutors said.
Muhammad then drove to the block on Le Moyne and positioned the Audi parallel to Showers’ car, which she was exiting with her daughter nearby, prosecutors said.
He allegedly fired a single shot, hitting her in the back of the head, prosecutors said. Showers was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died.
Surveillance video taken at a CVS later that night showed Muhammad wearing clothing that matched a description given by a witness, prosecutors said.
The stolen Audi was found in Oak Park two days later with 11 spent shell casings inside, prosecutors said.
Muhammad was arrested a few days later in Oak Park in an unrelated case. Authorities searching his home found clothing seen in the surveillance video as well as credit cards belonging to the Audi carjacking victims, prosecutors said. They also allegedly found a bullet that matched shell casings found in the Audi and at Showers’ murder scene.
A judge denied bail for Muhammad, condemning the “random nature” of the allegations.
A group of West Side religious leaders had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the death of Showers, who was a mother of three and a volunteer at Greater St. John Bible Church.
The Rev. Ira Acree, the church’s pastor, announced earlier this month that the church would institute an annual Tracey Showers Faithful Servant Award for a woman in the community known for acts of service.
Muhammad worked as a janitor and helped his “ailing” grandmother on a day-to-day basis, defense attorney Brittany Kimble said. He was also a semi-pro soccer player and mentors his nephew, Kimble added.
Muhammad’s next court date was scheduled for Mar. 31.
