The trio then walked to a nearby gas station to buy some food when they encountered Battle, who was also shopping there. One of the teens noticed Battle had a gun in his waistband and commented to him that he wished he was as tall as Battle because he wanted to play basketball.
https://news.wttw.com/2020/06/26/no-bond-chicago-man-accused-gunning-down-2-high-schoolers
He sees a stranger with a gun and feels compelled to strike up a conversation, eh? Hm. Okay.