Overview
- Chicago police said Bankston, 60, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the abdomen around 10 a.m. Wednesday in the 7600 block of South Emerald Street and was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Authorities reported no other injuries and no arrests and have released few details as investigators continue to process the scene and gather evidence.
- Family members said officers told them Bankston may have been lying there overnight, and radio traffic reviewed by reporters shows a 911 call about an unresponsive person and an officer finding a single shell casing in the basement.
- Bankston was a longtime Chicago basketball figure who helped lead Simeon to the 1984 state title, played at Bradley and Loyola, was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, and had been TF North’s head coach since 2002.
- Mourning spilled into the neighborhood as former teammates, players and local officials gathered, and the killing revived painful memories of past South Side basketball shootings that could sharpen public scrutiny of the investigation.