A 14-year-old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting on Chicago’s Lower West Side early Sunday, according to police.
Damien Santoyo, of the 3600 block of West 81st Street in the city’s Ashburn neighborhood, was shot while sitting on the porch of a home in Pilsen, authorities said.
"I'm a Christian woman, and I go to church," Erlinda Criado, the victim's grandmother, told NBC 5. "I have so many questions, and I have no answers."
At around 2:35 a.m., Santoyo was sitting with two other juveniles on a porch in the 1700 block of South Newberry Avenue when a car drove by and someone inside yelled gang slogans and opened fire, according to police.
"He has no gang affiliation. Nothing like that," Criado said.
Santoyo sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, police said, and was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:50 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
His mother was at the scene of the shooting early Sunday, horrified and angry over her loss, screaming, "I was not ready for this" in a heartbreaking outburst.
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Santoyo had just turned 14 this summer and graduated eighth grade earlier this year, according to his mother, who said she thought he was at home overnight.
No one is in custody in connection with the shooting as authorities continue to investigate, and Damien's family is seeking answers.
"We want justice done for Damien," Criado said. "I want to know who shot my grandson."
