A South Side man whose transformational story was featured in the CNN documentary “Chicagoland” was killed early Thursday.
Family learned about Lee McCollum III’s death about 1 a.m. Thursday, the young man’s grandfather, George McCollum, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Chicago Police found the 22-year-old unresponsive on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head at 12:37 a.m. in the 500 block of West 126th Street.
George McCollum said late Thursday morning the young man’s father was at the Cook County medical examiner’s office. That office confirmed that McCollum, of the 11400 block of South Yale, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:22 a.m.
Lee McCollum was portrayed in the 2014 CNN documentary as a teen who had turned his life around, from street thug to student leader, with plans for college.
In August 2014, McCollum was shot twice in the leg shortly after leaving his grandfather’s home in Roseland, family said at the time. McCollum was on his way to his job at a Wendy’s restaurant when he died, family members said.
