A man has been charged in the shooting death of a Simeon Career Academy sophomore football player who was gunned down two miles from his Chatham home in April.
Kenneth K. Jackson, 31, is charged with first-degree murder, murder during commission of a felony and mob action, all felonies, in connection with the death of 16-year-old Michael Flournoy III, according to a statement from Chicago Police.
Flournoy, who lived in the 8000 block of South Evans Avenue, was shot just before 8 p.m. April 5 in the 1000 block of East 93rd Street and died at the scene, authorities said.
His grandfather, Samuel Woods, said at the time Michael was on his way to pick up chips at a store on 93rd Street in the Burnside neighborhood when he got into a fight with some other boys.
“They jumped on him,” Woods said. “Beat him up. And then they shot him in the face.”
Michael played defensive back and wide receiver on the sophomore football team at Simeon.
“He was a great kid, always helping people out. He was a very soft-spoken young man, you would have to tell him to speak up just to hear him talk. Just a good kid,” Simeon football coach Dante Culbreath said of Michael.
Family, friends and neighbors all described Michael as an ambitious, soft-spoken kid with a good head on his shoulders who steered clear of drugs and gangs.
Jackson, of the 100 block of East 59th Street, also faces two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance in connection with an unrelated incident, police said. He is expected to appear in bond court Wednesday.
