Known to his loved ones by nicknames like "Melo," "Lil Roo," and "Alix," Alixander S. Townsend was remembered as a funny, caring, thoughtful, and highly intelligent young man. An 18-year-old African-American student who had attended schools including Epic Academy and Excel Academy of South Shore, he was considered a brother, a friend, and a happy person with an old soul. His life was cut short on a Wednesday morning, September 14, 2016, in a year marked by a significant surge in violence across Chicago.
At approximately 10:21 a.m., Alixander was walking in the 2600 block of East 75th Street in the city's South Shore neighborhood. He was with a 16-year-old friend and the friend's mother, reportedly on their way home from school, which was just a couple of blocks away. As Alixander crossed the street, a black vehicle, later identified by prosecutors as a Dodge Avenger, drove past.
The car then stopped, reversed to block their path, and someone inside opened fire.
The shooter extended an arm from the car and fired several shots as Alixander and his friend tried to run. Struck in the hand and abdomen, Alixander fell near the gate of a post office parking lot. First responders rushed him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but his injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead at 11:08 a.m. A witness initially claimed the teens had been sent home from Excel Academy of South Shore for not wearing the required bow ties, but a school spokesperson disputed this, stating the school does not send students away for uniform violations and that Alixander had left campus "of his own volition." The spokesperson added, "Excel Academy is heartsick over this young man's death."
The Chicago Police Department launched a homicide investigation, and the shooting was captured on a police surveillance camera. The investigation gained significant momentum thanks to the 16-year-old who was walking with Alixander. He told his mother that the shooter was a 17-year-old named Jalen Hibbler, whom he had known for at least six months. The mother relayed this information to the police.
A month later, on October 14, the young witness was arrested on an unrelated charge and taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. There, he saw Hibbler on two separate occasions. According to prosecutors, Hibbler saw the witness and made a gesture mimicking a gun by putting two fingers to his temple, seemingly as a threat. Following this identification and intimidation, police arrested Jalen Hibbler on October 24, 2016.
Prosecutors charged Hibbler as an adult with first-degree murder for the death of Alixander Townsend and attempted murder for firing at the 16-year-old witness. At a court hearing, a judge ordered Hibbler, who lived in the 7600 block of South Kingston, held without bail. The case against the alleged shooter was set to proceed through the Cook County court system.
Friends and family mourned the loss of the promising 18-year-old, leaving messages on a memorial page like "long live melo forever and ever" and "You meant so much to so many." The case remains a stark reminder of the gun violence that plagued Chicago in 2016. As of October 2016, Jalen Hibbler was facing charges for Alixander's murder, and the case was pending in the justice system.
