Kiara Jenkins, a devoted mother and lifelong member of Mt. Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in an alley behind her home near South Drexel Avenue just after 4:30 a.m., Chicago police said. Jenkins was on her way to the church’s 5 a.m. service, which she regularly attended, when she was shot, according to family and church members.
Area detectives from Chicago’s Police Department have not announced any arrests, and investigators have not released a motive. A $10,000 reward is being offered through Chicago Crime Stoppers for information that leads to the identification and arrest of those responsible.
Jenkins’ children range in age from a college freshman to 10 years old, her family told local media as they mourned the loss of their mother just days before her 37th birthday. Relatives and church members described her as deeply committed to her faith, family and community.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, whose 20th Ward includes the scene of the killing, called the shooting “a senseless act of violence that never should have happened,” and said the tragedy has shaken the community. “Her children are now left without their mother,” Taylor said in a statement.
The fatal shooting underscores ongoing challenges with gun violence in Chicago, which has seen high numbers of shootings and homicides in recent years, particularly on the South and West sides of the city. Local leaders and activists have repeatedly urged broader interventions, including community investment and expanded violence prevention efforts, to protect families and reduce lethal encounters on neighborhood streets.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Chicago police or Crime Stoppers.
