Neighbors called her “Mama Browder.”
From the window of her white vinyl-sided bungalow, Maggie Browder, 70, watched out for neighborhood children, quick to call a parent on the telephone if she saw a child acting out.
She watched over the adults, too, bringing potato salad to a neighbor who lost his mother-in-law, or collecting money for a card when someone was sick.
Browder was a senior “nurse” at the church that she and her family attended for decades, handing out handkerchiefs, fans and water to those overcome during services, those close to her said.
Just after 6 a.m. Monday, Browder heard the doorbell of her West Pullman home ring and peeked through the white vertical blinds in her living room window to see who was there. Her daughter, Barbara, heard her mother’s footsteps and then heard two shots.
“I [saw] her on the floor,” said her daughter, sobbing outside the family’s home in the 12200 block of South Morgan Street.
Browder was shot in the shoulder, police on the scene said, and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn about an hour later.
Police believe the shooting may have been gang-related but don’t believe Browder was the intended target. There have been ongoing gang conflicts in the neighborhood, said Monique Bond, a police department spokeswoman.
“My mama was 70 years old, and she [hasn’t] asked for this,” said her daughter. “She’s never done anything to [anybody].”
Police initially said it appeared that a stray bullet fired from outside passed through Browder’s living room window and struck the woman at around 6:20 a.m. But by Monday evening, authorities said they believe the shooter rang the doorbell to lure someone to the front door.
But police have no evidence that Browder or her daughter were intended targets, Bond said.
Investigators were interviewing witnesses Monday afternoon and will review video surveillance in the area to try to identify a suspect or license plates of vehicles near the scene. No one was in custody Monday evening.
Her daughetr, Barbara, who had moved in with her mother after being released from a drug-rehabilitation program, said there was no reason for anyone to target her mother or their home.
Next-door neighbor George Martin was just waking up at 6 a.m. when he heard the shots.
“I went to light a cigarette, and the next thing you know, shots rang out, boom, boom,” he said. “I knew it was close because it was so loud.”
Martin said he looked out his kitchen window but didn’t see anything. He said he didn’t hear any shouting before it happened.
“That lady was loved by everybody,” he said. Martin’s mother-in-law died recently, and Browder brought over potato salad, chicken, and turkey, as well as disposable plates and cups for the family.
Two or three months ago, someone threw an object through one of the front windows of Browder’s home in the early morning, Martin said. “It was very strange,” he said.
Family members who gathered at Browder’s home Monday described her as a sweet but occasionally obstinate woman who continued to drive, albeit slowly, despite very poor eyesight.
She was an “old-fashioned church lady” who eschewed pants for more conservative dress, one neighbor said.
She and her husband, Hilton, raised three children, had six grandchildren and were both retired, though her husband grew bored and started working again. He wasn’t at home when Browder was shot.
“We’re just at a loss for words,” said Browder’s goddaughter, Parrish Johnson. ” It’s just unbelievable that someone could take action and do something like this to a senior citizen…just take her life away.”
Johnson said family members don’t know what happened and asked that anyone with information come forward.
“Did they get the wrong house? Did they ring the wrong doorbell? We don’t know,” Johnson said. “Believe me, it wasn’t for her. It couldn’t have been.”
Jimmie Byrd, 59, said many knew Browder in the close-knit neighborhood because her family was among the first black families to move there about four decades ago. “She was the sweetest lady on the block,” he said.
Rev. Marshall Robinson, the assistant pastor at Greater Mount Eagle Missionary Baptist Church, visited the family Monday.
“It [doesn’t] sound right,” he said. “You don’t just kill a 70-year-old woman.”
Cook County Crime Stoppers are offering a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever was responsible for shooting of Browder. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-353-STOP or the Chicago Police Area 2 Detective Division at 312-747-8272.
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