A Chicago father was broadcasting live video on Facebook in front of family and friends when he was shot and killed.
Kevin Watson, 42, parked his car in the city’s South Austin neighborhood and was livestreaming inside his vehicle around 6:14 p.m. Wednesday.
‘This hurt a lot of us.’
Watson is heard talking about a parking dispute he had experienced earlier before becoming alarmed, putting up his hands, and asking, “What’s up, bro? What’s up?”
He then says, “Hell, nah!”
Watson exits his car, and what sounds like a physical confrontation occurs just outside the vehicle — and beyond the view of the video camera in his car.
Seconds later, a single gunshot rings out. The audio of the video then goes eerily silent.
Soon the door of another vehicle is heard slamming shut, after which the sound of a car driving away is audible.
Several people are heard screaming in the background.
One man yells, “Call the police!”
Someone is instructing others to apply pressure to Watson’s gunshot wound.
The New York Post reported that Watson was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The shooting occurred just a few blocks from a police station.
The disturbing Facebook live video was shared on social media. One post that includes the clip had nearly 2 million views as of Friday afternoon.
Some of Watson’s loved ones were watching the livestream.
Freddie Collier, a friend of Watson, stated, “We’re going to have to figure out how to move on and be strong, day to day, to help each other get past this, because this didn’t just hurt one person. This hurt a lot of us.”
Watson was killed just weeks shy of his birthday, and he leaves behind a 6-year-old son.
The fatal shooting occurred near the liquor store where Watson’s cousin worked. Watson reportedly visited his cousin there shortly before he was killed.
“He was choking for breath. He was trying to struggle to breathe,” Watson’s cousin Jacquez Smith told WLS-TV.
Lamar Spencer, a close friend of Watson and a witness, recalled, “I rubbed his palm, and I squeezed his hand, and he wouldn’t squeeze back.”
Alvin Jackson, Watson’s close friend and a shooting witness, told WLS, “He was talking to a guy, and he was going to his car, then the guy followed behind him. So the guy followed behind him and pulled the gun on him. He was trying to wrestle with the gun, and the gun went off.”
Smith said, “He was a good man. No matter what he done, he helped people, you know? He helped me get this job in here.”
The Chicago Sun-Times said there have been no arrests in connection with the deadly shooting, and detectives are investigating the case.
The Chicago Police Department on Friday did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
According to the Chicago Police Department data, there have been 903 shootings in the city so far in 2025 along with 249 murders. The year before, there were 359 murders in the Windy City and 1,432 shootings.
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Chicago, Chicago crime, Shooting, Ambush, Gun violence, Chicago murders, Chicago shootings, Crime, Facebook live, Livestream, Fatal shooting
