Army Specialist From Hazel Crest Killed In Kenya Attack

HAZEL CREST, IL — A United States Army Specialist from the south suburbs was one of three people killed in a Sunday morning attack at a Kenya defense force military base in Manda Bay. Family members confirmed in an NBC-5 report Henry Mayfield Jr., 23, of Hazel Crest was the United States service member who died in the attack by al-Shabaab, a group in East Africa linked to Al-Qaeda.

Two department of defense contractors were also killed in the attack, according to the United States Africa Command. The attack at the compound involved indirect and small arms fire, they said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of our teammates who lost their lives today,” U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command, said.

Mayfield Jr. was a Hillcrest High School alum and also attended Northern Illinois University before enlisting in the service, NBC reported.

Loved ones confirm @USArmy Specialist Henry Mayfield Jr. was 1 of 3 Americans killed during a pre-dawn terror attack on a U.S. airfield base in Kenya.

He was just 23-years-old.

Mayfield Jr. is from Chicago suburb Hazel Crest.@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/l9ikuBhn4h
— Eric Cox (@EricCoxTV) January 6, 2020