Emmanuel D. Fleming, 34, was shot and killed on August 13, 2017, while attending Sunday service at Friendship Baptist Church in Chicago. The shooting occurred about 11:15 a.m. on the steps of the church on the 200 block of South Laramie Avenue as the service was about to begin. Two armed men wearing bandanas approached the steps and opened fire, fatally wounding Fleming and another man, Michael Swift, 46.

Fleming had been serving as an usher and was at the church with his three young children, all under the age of 10; his children were present when the shooting occurred and had been baptized at that congregation. Both men on the steps suffered multiple gunshot wounds and the attack unfolded in front of numerous churchgoers, prompting people to hit the floor for safety. The killing occurred in a location where Fleming had sought community and peace.

Anyone who was at Friendship Baptist Church that morning or who has information about the attack is asked to come forward.