Security guard killed outside Chatham store remembered as ‘fun-loving, gentle giant’ – NBC Chicago

Anthony Cassell hasn’t talked about any of the countless fond memories he has of his nephew, Sydney Cassell. To him, each one was remarkable.

“Any contact with Sydney was a memory because he was the life of the party,” Anthony Cassell told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sydney Cassell, 29, had just gotten off duty at the Kids Foot Locker at 8658 S. Cottage Grove Ave., where he worked as a security guard. He was getting into his car around 7:20 p.m. when someone in a blue sedan drove up and fired shots, Chicago police said.

Cassell suffered gunshot wounds to the face and lower body and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8:18 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said .

A wooden board covered one of the windows outside the store, which was closed Friday afternoon as shoppers headed to surrounding stores and restaurants.

The motive was unclear and police said the shooter was not in custody.

Montrell Otey, Sydney’s brother, urged whoever shot him to “come forward and be honest with yourself.”

“The Bible says, ‘It is better to forgive,’” Otey, 28, told the Sun-Times. “We will never forget what happened to him or what they did to him, but we can always forgive them.”

“It’s going to take time before most of the family forgives him, but it’s better to forgive than forget,” he added.

Anthony Cassell recalled his last conversation with his nephew: “I told him I loved him, you know, (I) told him I’d see him when I saw him.” Unfortunately, this will not be able to happen.”

He described his nephew as a “gentle giant who was always laughing and loved to have fun.”

“He was a big guy. Six-foot-four, 280, 290 pounds, but he was really nimble on his feet,” Anthony Cassell said.

Sydney loved dancing and listening to hip-hop and R&B and spending time making music with her brothers. He also had a deep passion for cars.

“He loved buying old cars and trying to fix them up,” Anthony Cassell said. “He was just a young man who was passionate about everything he did.”

Otey said one of his favorite memories of Sydney was when he came to his high school baseball games and supported him throughout his 2015 season.

“We had a good relationship,” he said. “Sometimes we fight, but that’s what brothers do. … We talk, we laugh, we joke.

“When someone was down, he was always there to comfort them and make them smile, you know, (and) get them through the day,” he said.