CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Following the shooting deaths of boys ages 7 and 15 in Chicago Wednesday night, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Police Supt. David Brown made a plea for information to help police find their killers.
Police said someone in an SUV fatally shot the teen as he was walking on Vernon Avenue near 77th Street.
Investigators said the 7-year-old died after being hit by a bullet that flew through a bathroom window in a home at Potomac Avenue and Rockwell Street.
The two boys, Lightfoot said, should be getting ready for a fun weekend ahead of Halloween.
“Instead, today, two families have been ripped apart,” she said. “Tragic loss that the families are dealing with, and a city, once again, is mourning the loss of two of our precious young people.”
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Lightfoot urged anyone with information about either shooting to help police find the killers.
“We must take them off the streets,” the mayor said. “For your safety, for the safety of every resident in our city.”
Brown said police offer up to $15,000 for any tips that might lead to charges or convictions.
“Someone knows who is responsible for these heinous crimes,” Lightfoot said. “This didn’t happen in a vacuum. You must, must come forward.”
The police superintendent said his officers are working to reduce the number of such shootings by seizing illegal guns and arresting gun offenders, but he repeated his claim that the courts are too soft on gun criminals.
“Whether a child is at home, getting ready for bed, or a teen is outside just walking — simply walking — down the street, they should be safe,” Brown said. “Their parents shouldn’t think twice about their safety.”
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