CHICAGO — Chicago police has announced first-degree murder charges after a 71-year-old man was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon near an elementary school in Chinatown.
Alphonso Joyner, 23, is accused of murdering Woom Sing Tse. According to police, around 12:30 p.m., Tse was walking on the 200 block of West 23rd Place when shots were fired from a silver sedan. Joyner then exited the vehicle and reshot Tse before driving off.
Tse was transported to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The brazen shooting was captured on surveillance video.
“He was a man who came to this country with just a few dollars in his pockets and through hard work and his spirit, achieved the American dream,” Chicago police Supt. David Brown said Wednesday night. “Mr. Tse built a home and provided for his family. He was a father, a husband, a grandfather, a man of the community, a Chicagoan.”
Police credit the quick work and cooperation of the Chinatown community with apprehending the suspect. CPD arrested Joyner minutes after the shooting on the Kennedy Expressway. A handgun and an extended magazine were recovered.
Joyner later tested positive for gunshot residue.
“Safety is often cited as one of the most important issues that the community cares about, so whenever something like this happens it is devastating, so we were glad in this case that it was solved so quickly,” said Grace Chen McKibben, executive director of Coalition for Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC).
A motive is unknown. Police said Joyner immediately invoked his right to silence, declining to speak with investigators.
Chicago police did not rule out Joyner’s involvement in other hate crimes and random acts of violence on the North Side. But at this time, police say they don’t have any direct links to Joyner in those cases.
Joyner has a previous criminal history. According to police, the 23-year-old suspect has been arrested four times, twice for gun offenses.
The shooting happened in the same block where Haines Elementary School is located. Witnesses said that children at the school were going to recess at the time of the shooting.
