As families prepare to celebrate Christmas, one mother on Chicago’s North Side is mourning and grieving the death of her only child.
“I met with his mother. They are heartbroken. They don’t understand how he winded up over here in this alley,” said crisis responder Andrew Holmes. “He’s not from around here. He’s not familiar with this area here.”
Holmes returned to the alley Saturday night, where the teenager's body was found inside a car one day earlier.
At around 2 a.m. Friday, officers and firefighters discovered the teen's body in the trunk of a burning car in the 3700 block of South Parnell Avenue.
“This is a 15-year-old freshman, he did suffer some gunshot wounds to his chest,” Holmes said. “We understand that car was stolen from Lansing in the suburbs from an auto shop.”
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to release the victim's name, but determined his death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck and chest.
Holmes told NBC Chicago the teen attended Menta Academy. He and others are pleading for the community’s help to solve his murder.
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“Parents, ask your children," said Lisette Guillen with Case Files Chicago. “Ask your children, maybe your kids go to Menta Academy. Ask your children if they heard anything.”
While police continue their search for the person responsible, Holmes said he feels the pain the teen's mother is experiencing.
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“She’s trying to hold her memories in of her baby and the things that she talked about was only his smile,” Holmes said. “He could light up a room.”
The police tape may be gone, but the mystery remains who would do this to her son and why.
“Looking forward to his graduation, that’s gone, looking forward to spending Christmas, that’s gone,” Holmes said. “But one thing about her, she’s looking forward to getting justice for her son.”
A $1,000 reward is being offered in the case. If you have any information, you can submit an anonymous tip online at cpdtip.com or call 1-800-U-TELL-US.
