CHICAGO — Two teens were shot and killed Friday afternoon near their Downtown school.
At 12:25 p.m., a group of six students were leaving Innovations High School, 17 N. State St., when people inside a dark-colored sedan and an SUV pulled up, stepped out and fired shots, Jon Hein, deputy chief of police, said at a news conference.
Two Innovations students — 17 and 16 years old — were shot and taken to a nearby hospital, where they died, Hein said. Both were shot in the chest, he said. A woman walking Downtown had her jacket grazed by a bullet, Hein said.
The attackers fled south, Hein said. They are not yet in custody.
Police placed numerous yellow evidence markers on the ground at the scene. Witnesses told the Tribune they heard up to 20 shots fired at the group. A high-ranking police official told the Tribune it was an “ambush.” A nearby vendor told the Sun-Times he heard “at least 20 to 30 rounds.”
The Sun-Times also reported four of the attackers fled the scene in a car, while two others ran off on foot before going into a nearby Popeye’s and changing clothes.
Authorities asked that anyone with information on the shooting submit an anonymous tip or contact Area 3 detectives at 312-744-8263.
In a statement, Mayor Brandon Johnson said his Office of Community Safety is sending out its victim services support teams to help families and fellow students.
“I extend my deepest condolences to their families and the Innovations High School community as they grapple with unimaginable pain and trauma caused by this senseless act of violence,” Johnson said in a statement. “My prayers and those of my entire administration are with everyone impacted during this difficult time.”
At least three Chicago Public Schools students have been fatally shot this week.
Maurice Clay, 18, was killed Monday night and his brother was wounded outside CICS Loomis-Longwood, 1309 W. 95th St., the Sun-Times reported.
Police were called to the school after a disturbance broke out among students, including Clay, according to the Sun-Times. Officers released the teen to his older brother, Martell Clay, before leaving the school.
Minutes later, a black car approached the brothers, and someone got out and fired dozens of shots, Martell Clay told the Sun-Times. Maurice Clay was shot in his head, neck and leg and died at the hospital.
Other shootings near schools or targeting students have rattled campuses and neighborhoods throughout the city in recent years.
A North Lawndale College Prep was shot in November while he was walking to school.
Four teens were shot outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in Pilsen in December 2022. Brandon Perez, a 15-year-old Benito Juarez student, and Nathan Billegas, a 14-year-old Chicago Bulls College Prep student, were killed, and two more 15-year-olds were wounded.
That same month, a 15-year-old student was killed outside Michele Clark Magnet High School on the Near West Side.
Four students were shot outside Schurz High School in Old Irving Park during the first week of classes in August 2022.
A WBEZ/Sun-Times analysis showed shootings near schools spiked in 2022.
A Chalkbeat analysis showed more than 50 school-aged children were fatally shot in the city in 2021. That included two 15-year-old Simeon Career Academy students killed minutes apart on the South Side in September 2021: Jamari Williams, a sophomore, and Kentrell McNeal, a freshman.
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
