CHICAGO — A 15-year-old boy died Tuesday afternoon after being shot near a high school in the Austin neighborhood, police said.
The boy had been near a sidewalk when he was struck by gunfire at 3:16 p.m. on the 5100 block of West Harrison Street, the same block as Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School, police said. He was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, police said.
The boy, identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as Kevin Davis, was a student at the school, Chicago police 15th District Cmdr. Andre Parham said at a Tuesday evening news conference.
“It’s a tragedy. I’ve been on this job 22 years. It doesn’t get any easier. You hate to see anything happen to children,” Parham said. “It’s mind-numbing.”
Police don’t know how the after-dismissal shooting happened or whether other students were around when shots broke out, he said. The investigation into the fatal attack is in its early stages, the commander added.
Parham said police were working with nearby businesses, faith groups and other institutions to identify the shooter. No one has been arrested, police said earlier Tuesday. Parham urged anyone with information about the fatal shooting to share it with police.
“Big, small, anything at all, please contact the Chicago Police Department, and let us know what you know,” he said. “There will be no stone left unturned in this investigation. Understand, if you harm one of our children in this city, we are going to find you and we are going to prosecute you.”
Chicago Public Schools will ramp up security at the school Wednesday and is bringing in crisis support for grief counseling and community partners to support staff, CPS Chief of Safety and Security Jadine Chou said.
“Michele Clark is one of our shining stars. This school, here in the West Side, in Austin, is one of the schools that we really look to to set the example for the district. It’s not something that we see,” Chou said.
When reporters asked about what changes were made after an August shooting near the school left three teens, reportedly including two students, injured, Chou said CPS makes safety enhancements after shootings and reiterated that Michele Clark is a safe school.
In October 2021, the school community grieved after basketball star and student Kierra Moore was shot and killed in Lawndale. The school was profiled by The New Yorker later that month in an article titled “A Chicago High School Reopens, With Fears of Gun Violence,” when it welcomed students back after an 18-month, COVID-related closure. Students shared their experiences with and fears of neighborhood violence in the article.
A Michele Clark receptionist said the school couldn’t yet comment on the shooting and death Tuesday afternoon.
____
