In a harrowing incident, a Chicago teacher was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend in front of her 7-year-old daughter, just weeks after securing a protection order against him. The murder-suicide occurred Thursday morning in North Lawndale.
Tanisha Weeks, 41, and her ex, Timothy Gibbs, 35, were found with gunshot wounds to their heads at a home on the 4100 block of West Grenshaw Street at around 7:30 a.m. Both were pronounced dead at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Weeks suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the face, with her death ruled a homicide. Gibbs’ cause of death is still under investigation.
Weeks, a dedicated teacher at a local charter school, had endured years of abuse at the hands of Gibbs. Court records revealed that she filed for an emergency protection order on November 27, which was replaced by a two-year plenary order of protection on December 18. Despite these measures, Gibbs confronted Weeks at her home, ending her life in a tragic act of violence witnessed by her young daughter, reported WGNTV.
Police reported that Weeks’ daughter told them Gibbs shot her mother before turning the gun on himself. Weeks’ petition for the protection order detailed the horrific abuse she suffered during their relationship, which began in March 2019 and ended in November 2024.
In one chilling account, Weeks wrote that three days after their breakup, Gibbs pulled out a gun, forced her to sit on a couch, and strangled her. “The respondent [Gibbs] told me that he would shoot me and watch me bleed out,” she stated. He then fired the gun, narrowly missing her, and forced her to drive him to several locations under threat of violence.
Despite filing a police report for domestic battery that night, the abuse continued. Gibbs was arrested on November 28 for failing to register as a violent offender but was released the same day on probation.
The protection order required Gibbs to stay 100 feet away from Weeks and prohibited firearm possession. However, as a convicted felon, Gibbs was already legally barred from owning guns.
Weeks’ death highlights the devastating consequences of domestic violence and the limitations of legal protections. Advocates urge anyone facing abuse to seek support, emphasizing that help is available even in the most difficult situations.