A Chicago man who fired at an occupied minivan during a gunfight at a South Side gas station, leaving a bystander injured, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
Malik Williams, 29, was standing near the intersection of Marquette Road and Halsted Street on May 27, 2022, when he fired two shots at a minivan driving through the intersection, according to federal prosecutors. People inside the minivan returned fire, and a Divvy worker who was filling his work van with gas was shot in the leg.
Security video from the gas station showed Williams arriving in a Nissan Murano at 3:54 p.m. and pulling near a gas pump. He did not fill the vehicle with gas or enter the store, prosecutors said. Instead, Williams remained in the SUV for about 15 minutes, then got out, walked toward the intersection, and waited there for about 14 minutes with a gun in his waistband, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum.
He then pulled out the gun and fired twice at a minivan driving through the intersection on a busy Friday afternoon.
“Had his aim been true, he would have killed one or more people on purpose. Everyone at that intersection that day is fortunate to be alive, including [the] defendant,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Schied wrote in the government’s sentencing memorandum. A woman was standing just feet from Williams when he fired at the minivan, Schied said.
People inside the minivan opened its sliding door and returned fire.
Williams’s gun jammed after he fired the two shots. He ducked behind the Divvy van to clear the malfunction as the woman ran away. The wounded bystander hobbled toward the back of the van, where he collided with the woman before pulling himself inside the van to hide, according to prosecutors.
Williams eventually cleared the jam, but dropped two live rounds of ammunition on the ground. He then ran back to the Nissan Murano and drove away.
Williams pleaded guilty nearly a year ago to being a felon in possession of ammunition and was sentenced this month by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger.
