James Carson Jr., a 44-year-old African American man, was shot and killed on November 8, 2021, in Chicago. The shooting happened about 9:10 a.m. inside Midtown Market and Liquor at 3855 W. Division St. in Humboldt Park. Surveillance footage shows Carson grabbing a bottle when a person in a blue hooded sweatshirt produced a handgun and shot him in the chest. Carson was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead about two hours later.

Police charged a 16-year-old with first-degree murder after investigators say he and a 19-year-old accomplice had an altercation with Carson inside the store when the clerk refused to sell cigarettes to the underage boys. Authorities say the 16-year-old followed Carson to the back of the store and shot him; video released by police helped identify the suspects. The defense raised a claim of self-defense that Carson had threatened the teenager during the confrontation, while prosecutors presented evidence they described as showing a premeditated shooting.

Anyone who witnessed the incident at Midtown Market and Liquor or who has information about the shooting is asked to come forward.