Car Wash Owner Shot And Killed Outside Business In Gary, Indiana
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 43-year-old entrepreneur and father of five was shot and killed on Friday outside of the car wash he owns in Gary, Indiana.
Kevin Hood had just opened his newest business at 15th and Massachusetts a few weeks ago, and was still celebrating the grand opening late Friday afternoon, when he was gunned down in the street outside Shine On Hand Car Wash & Detail.
Less than 30 minutes later, he was pronounced dead.
Shine On was was Hood's third car wash. Andre Strickland said he considered Hood to be almost like a brother, because he gave him a chance to earn a living.
Strickland was working at one of Hood's other car washes when he heard his boss had been killed.
"I almost swallowed my heart, it hurt me so bad. I almost swallowed my heart, and I went straight on home. I cried and prayed for him," he said.
Gary police have not provided any further information about the shooting.
Neighbors said Hood was a motorcycle enthusiast who was always willing to help a neighbor in need. He was planning to attend his class reunion at West Side Leadership Academy over the weekend, but that reunion became an impromptu memorial to their murdered classmate.