Fight on Facebook turns deadly: prosecutors
BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Criminal Courts Reporter September 19, 2013 1:20PM
Khalila Southall
Updated: September 20, 2013 5:14AM
A 30-year-old woman gunned down her rival at a West Side gas station last month after the pair got into a fight on Facebook, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.
Khalila Southall, who fled to Rochester, Minn., following the Aug. 26 shooting, allegedly admitted to Chicago Police that she and Lakeisha Tate had a previous argument on the social media site and “did not like each other.”
Before she was killed, Tate, 28, made a purchase and was walking out of the gas station in the 3300 block of West Harrison when she was confronted by Southall in a red dress, Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Crocker said.
The two started fighting on the ground at the entryway to the gas station store when Southall pulled out a gun and shot Tate in the leg and torso, Crocker said.
Tate died at Stroger Hospital after she succumbed to her injuries.
Southall left her ID card at the scene and surveillance footage captured her attacking Tate, Crocker said.
Several others, including Tate’s uncle and gas station attendants, also witnessed the fight, authorities said.
Two .25 caliber shell casings were found on the scene and officers recovered a .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun and the dress that police believe Southall was wearing at the time of the shooting from Southall’s boyfriend’s home, Crocker said.
Earlier this month, Southall was arrested in a domestic incident in Rochester, according to news reports there.
When she allegedly gave an officer a fake name, authorities grew suspicious and soon discovered there was a warrant for her arrest in Chicago, reports said.
Southall, who has a tattoo of a scorpion on the back of her neck, allegedly admitted to Chicago Police who traveled to Minnesota about her run-ins with Tate.
She also confessed to fighting with Tate at the gas station and said she had a gun with her that day, Crocker said.
Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Southall held without bail Thursday.
Southall, of the 900 block of South Lawndale, suffers from a degenerative lung disease and is currently on disability, an assistant public defender said.
When she was arrested she had three bottles of medicine with her and two inhalers, a police report said. Southall said she had attempted suicide two years ago but is “doing good” now, the report said.
She attended DuSable High School up to 10th grade and used to work at a Best Buy on the North Side, her defense attorney said.
Southall, who wore her long curly brown hair in a ponytail in court, has previous convictions on a drug charge and aggravated battery to a police officer.
Email: rhussain@suntimes.com
