Chicago police were scouring the city's Homan Square neighborhood Friday for information in the shooting of a 14-year-old boy who was killed one day earlier. '
The teenager, identified as Maleek Smith, was found with a gunshot wound to the head about 2:05 p.m. Thursday in the 600 block of South Lawndale Avenue, Chicago police said.
One woman, LaToya Freeman, told NBC 5 she was nearby when shots rang out.
"He was coming through the alley right there," Freeman said. "I was actually standing right there. They passed me and got him. The bullets passed, and they got him, and they killed him."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Maleek was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting.
"Our kids are surviving the pandemic, and this virus, which is very deadly, but they are not surviving this gun violence on the streets of Chicago," Freeman said.
Crisis responder Andrew Holmes spoke with the teenager's family shortly after they learned about his death.
Local
"They are looking for a graduation that won't be there, a prom that won't be there... all at the hands of an individual who wanted to discharge his weapon and run," he said.
Holmes said police are looking for a gray vehicle that was seen leaving the scene after the shooting.
While residents are coming to grips with yet another shooting, they remain unnerved.
"This is a good neighborhood," one resident said. "I don’t know why that happened, but condolence to his family,"
"It made me feel terrible…because he is a very young age," Freeman said. "He hasn’t lived his life, and I don’t know what he did for them to do that to him, but he was a baby. They didn’t have to do him like that."
No one was in custody Friday as police continued to look for whoever is responsible and tried to determine a motive in the killing.
