On rare occasions, street harassment escalates into murder. This is a case where that sadly, outrageously happened…to a witness/bystander to the harassment.
“Michael Tingling and his 15-year-old daughter Masharah were inseparable.
“He could’ve gave birth to her instead of me, that’s how close they were,” said Masharah’s mother, Yolanda Simmons. “They hung out like they were best buddies.”
On Wednesday, during one of their regular afternoons together, Tingling and his daughter were approached by a man who “made inappropriate gestures” to the girl, police said. The men got into an argument and Tingling, an ex-boxer, was punched in the chest and collapsed in front of his daughter. He died an hour later.
Police arrested Joseph Firek, who is 59 and on parole for residential burglary, and charged him overnight with first-degree murder and a hate crime, saying Firek kept making racial comments while attacking Tingling.”
More about what happened:
Firek “stared at them, looked at her up and down, and her dad grabbed her, put her behind him and he told him, ‘You need to walk away,’” Simmons said. “The guy was just standing there grinning.”
Firek then allegedly said “What, n*****?” and punched Tingling at least twice in the upper chest, said Assistant State’s Attorney Rita Infelise. The two men exchanged punches until an unknown male separated them.
Tingling, who family members said had a pacemaker, walked away with Firek pursuing him into the intersection of Clark Street and Estes Avenue as Masharah called 911. He eventually stopped following the two, who went into an auto shop where Tingling sat down, saying he didn’t feel well and had shortness of breath, Infelise said. Paramedics rushed Tingling in full cardiac arrest to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, she said, and police arrested Firek at the scene.”
SO HEART BREAKING. This dad was just trying to protect and stand up for his daughter and now he is dead. Street harassment is disgusting, vile, and can have very real consequences. It needs to stop NOW. Our hearts go out to the 15-year-old girl and the friends and family of her father.
No one should ever be harassed or killed for standing up for a loved one who is harassed.
