Two brothers killed a Chicago news station security guard during a botched carjacking as she got gas after work, authorities said.
Salena Claybourne, a 35-year-old mom of two, was sitting in her car Monday afternoon after refilling at a South Side gas station when prosecutors say Gregory Watson, 22, pulled up in a second car and shot her multiple times “within seconds,” WGN-TV reported.
Police said witnesses spotted Watson and a second man, later identified as his younger brother, 17-year-old Dameonte Watson, running from the scene. The pair were apprehended some 20 minutes after the deadly shooting, which authorities say was caught on surveillance video.
Prosecutors said Wednesday as the pair were charged with first-degree murder that Gregory Watson told investigators he “just wanted” Claybourne’s car.
Salena Claybourne was sitting in her car Monday afternoon after refilling at a South Side gas station. Family Handout
“My daughter was a beautiful person in and out and could put a smile on anyone’s face,” Donna Claybourne wrote in an online fundraiser. GoFundMe“He said he flashed his gun so she could see it,” Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said at the bond hearing. “He said that she saw ‘security’ on her jacket. He said that he gave his handgun to his brother, who hid them.”
Nearby video surveillance showed Dameonte Watson tossing a gun over a fence after Claybourne was shot. Police recovered two handguns in all, including one that matched shell casings found at the shooting scene, Murphy said.
Claybourne was merely trying to “pump her gas” and about to leave the station when the two brothers pounced and tried to “hijack her vehicle,” Murphy told a judge, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Claybourne, who was shot in the shoulder and face, was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The mom of two teen daughters had worked for Allied Universal Security at WGN-TV Studios, according to the news station.
Gregory Watson pulled up in a second car and shot Salena Claybourne multiple times “within seconds,” prosecutors said. Chicago Police Department
Police said witnesses spotted Gregory and Dameonte Watson running from the gas station. WGN-TV“My daughter was a beautiful person in and out and could put a smile on anyone’s face,” Donna Claybourne wrote in an online fundraiser. “Please help my family and I give her the homegoing that she deserves.”
Donna Claybourne is now left haunted by nightmares of her daughter’s ruthless slaying.
“I know she was afraid in that moment,” Donna Claybourne told WGN-TV.
Claybourne’s brother, meanwhile, is a Chicago police officer, according to the station. The city’s top cop offered his condolences to her distraught family Wednesday.
Salena Claybourne was a 35-year-old mom of two. Family Handout“We are grieving with this family and we are doing everything we can to hopefully bring them some small measure of closure with this arrest,” Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said.
Dameonte Watson was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, while Gregory Watson was charged with first-degree murder, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A judge ordered Dameonte Watson held without bail Wednesday after his attorney said he was invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. His older brother is set to appear before a judge Thursday, the newspaper reported.
