Black male Armontye Alexander, 32, was working a late-morning shift at Sanford Foods in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on April 29, 2025, when a masked gunman entered the store around 11:35 a.m., went toward the back, and opened fire.
He was struck multiple times in the head and body, taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, and pronounced dead a short time later.
The store sits in the 500 block of North Laramie Avenue, and the shooting shattered the bustle of a neighborhood
grocery where co-workers and customers were nearby.
Investigators said at least one assailant carried out the attack before fleeing, and early accounts indicated multiple suspects may have sped away from the scene.
Detectives from CPD's Area Four opened a homicide investigation as patrol units canvassed for surveillance video and witnesses. As of the day of the killing, no one was in custody, and authorities publicly described the shooter only as masked.
Family and community members identified the employee as Armontye Alexander, 32, and remembered him as someone trying to make a living for himself and his children.
Local coverage noted he had only recently started at the store, adding to the sense of abruptness and loss for relatives and co-workers who had seen him behind the counter just days earlier.
Newsrooms across the city and national victim registries confirmed the date, location, and circumstances, reflecting a case that drew swift attention but, initially, few answers.
By late afternoon on April 29, officials had publicly identified him and reiterated that the attack appeared targeted inside the small market.
The outline remained stark: a 32-year-old employee gunned down in daylight, a masked shooter, and an investigation pressing forward without immediate arrests while the neighborhood waited for leads to harden into a suspect and charges.
