The intersection of Sunnyside and Racine in Sheridan Park has become a site of recurring tragedy for one Chicago family.
Eighteen-year-old Stephen Raphael Hammond was shot and killed late Friday night, September 26, 2025.
Chicago police officers responded to the 1200 block of West Sunnyside Avenue around 11:50 p.m. after reports of gunfire.
They found Hammond lying unresponsive in the street with a gunshot wound to his head.
Paramedics rushed the teenager to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 27-year-old woman was also shot in the arm during the incident and remains in good condition.
While police recovered four guns at the scene, no suspects are currently in custody.
For the Hammond family, this loss is a horrific case of history repeating itself.
Exactly 22 years prior, Stephen’s uncle, Stephen Jerome Parker, was killed in the very same area.
Parker lost his life on November 22, 2003, leaving behind a case that has since gone cold.
Now, the family is mourning two “Stephens” taken by the same streets more than two decades apart.
The Shadows of Sheridan Park
Sheridan Park is a sub-neighborhood of Uptown known for its historic homes and proximity to the lakefront.
However, the area near Sunnyside and Racine has seen sporadic bursts of violence over the last two decades.
In 2003, the city was grappling with different gang dynamics, yet the outcome for Stephen Parker was the same.
Cold cases in Chicago often struggle for attention as new crimes take priority in busy police districts.
The family feels that the lack of resolution in 2003 paved the way for the silence they are experiencing today.
They are now pleading with the North Side community to break that silence before another 20 years pass.
A Family’s Plea for Justice
Masharah, the aunt of Stephen Hammond and sister of Stephen Parker, is refusing to let these cases be forgotten.
She is asking anyone who was near Sunnyside and Racine on the night of September 26 to speak up.
The family has spent 22 years waiting for answers regarding Parker’s death and cannot bear the same wait for Hammond.
If you have any information, you are encouraged to contact Masharah via her Facebook page or submit an anonymous tip to CPD.
Justice for Stephen Hammond starts with a single person coming forward with what they saw.
