Marie Henderson’s family-run record store has been broken into and robbed twice since she opened her doors nearly four decades ago in West Garfield Park.
Violence struck again early Wednesday morning, this time roughly a block away as an attempted carjacking ended with a gun battle and two people shot by the attackers in the 100 block of North Kostner Avenue.
“So much is happening so close to this business, I just take it with a grain of salt,” Henderson, who turns 82 later this week, told the Sun-Times. “We always have incidents in this neighborhood.”
A 65-year-old man and 40-year-old woman were inside a vehicle when four assailants got out of a silver SUV and demanded their vehicle about 4:40 a.m., police said.
After the driver pulled a gun and shot at the attackers and did not hit anyone, one of the attackers fired back, hitting the woman in the chest and grazing the man in his right calf, police said. The four got back into the SUV and sped away without taking the car.
The victims were taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where they were listed in good condition, police said.
The 65-year-old man has a concealed carry license and a valid FOID card, according to police. No one was in custody. Area 4 detectives are investigating.
Hours after the shooting, the 100 block of North Kostner Avenue was relatively quiet. Some residents who lived nearby said they heard the gunfire early Wednesday but declined to comment in detail.
Henderson, who has lived in West Garfield Park since 1963, hopes the area around her shop can become safer.
“We just hoping the area can get a little better so I can get a little more customers in here,” Henderson said with a chuckle. “You hope and you pray that things get better.”
