A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)
A Chicago man allegedly taunted his girlfriend after shooting her in the leg, telling her to “go to the light” and placing a photo of their child beside her so she could look at it while she was bleeding on the ground.
Dexter Trevell Shipp was charged Monday with one count of attempted first-degree murder stemming from the nonfatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman last week. He was ordered held without bail during a hearing Monday.
“In this case, the victim was in a dating relationship with the defendant, so this was not a ‘whodunnit,’ it’s a ‘he-done-it,’” Cook County Judge Maryam Ahmad said Monday. “She said Dexter Shipp was the one who shot her.”
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Whitecotton, Shipp and the woman have been dating for five years and have a 4-year-old son together. During an argument at Shipp’s apartment on June 16, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and used it to strike the woman in the back of the head.
Shipp eventually calmed down, but the next day, he overheard the woman on the phone telling her family what had happened. He confronted her again soon after, according to Whitecotton, and once again pulled a gun, this time pointing it at the victim’s head.
Shipp then allegedly lowered the weapon and fired one shot, striking his girlfriend in her upper right thigh. As she fell to the ground, Shipp began shouting at her that “that’s what (she) gets,” and that she should “go toward the light,” according to Whitecotton.
He then allegedly placed a photo of their son on the ground to let her see as she was bleeding out, and made a reference to the victim’s sister, who had been previously killed in a domestic violence-related murder.
The victim eventually passed out, and awoke later in a hospital. After she was discharged, she went home with Shipp and pretended nothing was wrong, according to Whitecotton, in order to protect herself.
After he fell asleep Saturday night, the victim texted her family in the early Sunday morning hours that she had been shot. Those family members called 911, and a Chicago police SWAT team eventually made its way into Shipp’s apartment and arrested him.
While he initially denied shooting the victim, Whitecotton said Shipp eventually confessed, saying he shot the victim, then left for a few hours before returning and calling an ambulance.
Shipp is also wanted on a warrant for aggravated domestic battery charge in Kansas. He is due back in court Wednesday and has an additional hearing June 29.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
