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Derricka Patrick, 29, was shot and killed around 7 p.m. in a parked vehicle on Jan. 12, 2022. Credit: Facebook

ENGLEWOOD — A 29-year-old mother pregnant with her second child was fatally shot in Englewood Wednesday night.

Derricka Patrick was sitting in a parked car in the 7400 block of S. Vincennes Ave. around 7 p.m. Wednesday when a car pulled up alongside hers, according to police. Unreleased surveillance footage showed two men getting out and shooting Patrick multiple times, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said at a press conference Thursday.

Deenihan said Patrick was alone in her car when the shooting occurred.

The 7400 block of South Vincennes Avenue in Grand Crossing where Derricka Patrick, 29, was shot and killed around 7 p.m. in a parked vehicle on Jan. 12, 2022. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Patrick was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead. No arrests have been made, police said. Investigators are working to identify the two people that shot Patrick, and Deenihan said police are hoping witnesses will come forward.

“We have some video evidence, we have some firearm evidence and obviously detectives are working on that case right now,” Deenihan said. “We definitely need some help from the community.”

Anyone with information can contact police at 833-408-0069 or cpdtip.org.

Patrick’s mother, Christine Blanton, told the Tribune she was a hairstylist who was close to her five siblings and 9-year-old daughter. Posts on Patrick’s Facebook page show her working with clients of all ages, styling sleek ponytails and blunt bobs. 

Derricka Patrick (center) and Charles McKenzie smile for a photo. Credit: Provided/Charles McKenzie

Blanton said she spoke with Patrick on FaceTime hours before she was killed.

“She just was a fun-loving person,” Blanton told the Tribune. “Always smiling, always had a smile on her face. She didn’t deserve this. My baby didn’t bother nobody. Everybody loved her.”

Charles McKenzie, longtime Englewood resident and activist, was close to Patrick and her family. He found out she’d been killed through online posts.

“She had a lot of people that loved her, a lot of people that respected her,” McKenzie said. “It was always with love every time I saw her.”

Their friendship transcended family gatherings, McKenzie said. He said she was the type of person to “give her shirt off her back” just to help others.

She did what she could do “to support her family,” McKenzie said.

“She was amazing,” McKenzie said. “Knowing that her life was cut short is painful.”

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Atavia Reed is a reporter for Block Club Chicago, covering the Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Chatham neighborhoods. Twitter @ataviawrotethis

Twitter @colinbphoto