Mitchell Phillips, 52, was shot and killed on September 9, 2025, inside his barbershop in Chicago’s East Chatham neighborhood near 79th and Drexel. He had opened the shop in February 2025 after years of cutting hair in the community and was remembered by family as a father and grandfather who often gave free haircuts to children and worked to serve his block.

Police reported the shooting occurred about 3:41 p.m. in the 800 block of East 79th Street. Phillips was struck three times, taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, and later pronounced dead. Family and witnesses described an attempted robbery that turned deadly, saying two men were involved and that Phillips fought back; police said detectives were investigating but did not confirm those specifics and no one had been taken into custody as of mid-September 2025.

The shop’s storefront was shuttered after the killing and candles and flowers gathered outside as a memorial. Does anyone who knew Mitchell or worked on that block have information that could help investigators?