Bystander killed at party tried to improve her life

CHICAGO (STNG) -- Jennifer Clark had three children at a young age but tried hard to improve her prospects, continuing her education after high school and working as a home health-care aide, according to the Sun-Times.

Her life ended early Sunday in a hail of bullets at a West Side party. Clark, 24, died of a gunshot wound to the chest when someone fired into a party at Hau't Sneakers and Gear, 5360 W. Division.

Police said the shooting happened about 1:05 a.m. after a man was asked to leave the event for "rude behavior." Once outside, the man filed several shots through the door, hitting Clark and a 16-year-old girl, said Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.

The teenager was wounded on the bottom of her left foot and was in serious condition at West Suburban Medical Center, Oak Park. The Cook County medical examiner's office said Clark, of the 3200 block of West Crystal, was pronounced dead at 1:41 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Detectives in the Grand Central Area were investigating, Kubiak said. Police provided no description of the assailant.

Clark was a "happy and lovable person," said her grandmother, Roberta Clark, who spent Sunday at home being consoled by family and friends from her church. "We were tight. We had a good relationship. When she was younger, I would take her everywhere."

Roberta Clark said Jennifer graduated from Austin High School and Olympia College, now called Everest College, and was trained as a medical aide and in food preparation. Jennifer worked for Help at Home Inc.

She leaves behind twin 6-year-old girls and a 4-year-old girl, her grandmother said.

"She was a loving mother. Her kids were always dressed up and looking nice and she was always with them," said an aunt, Helen Johnson.

Family members said Clark went to the party with a few friends but otherwise knew little about it.

The Hau't sneakers store was sealed tightly behind a metal enclosure Sunday afternoon. Drops of blood were on the sidewalk, and four bullet holes could be seen in the glass of a Cricket phone store next door.

Eric Hameyel, manager of a furniture store in the same shopping plaza, said the sneaker store was never a source of trouble. "We don't have any crime here. It's very quiet," he said.

Police said the store's owner was present when the shooting happened.