Chicago police appealed to the public for help in solving the murders of two 14-year-old boys shot in separate attacks, saying investigators have some video and witness accounts but no one in custody.
“We need some help,” Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan told reporters Thursday.
In the first attack, Javion Ivy was outside in the 2200 block of West Adams Street when someone shot him twice in the chest just before 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Ivy was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Witnesses said they heard gunfire and saw two people fleeing, Deenihan said. One person went up and took something from Ivy’s book bag before running away. Detectives have video from private and city surveillance cameras, but need help identifying the gunmen, he said.
The shooting occurred about two blocks from Robert Nathaniel Dett Elementary School and Chicago Bulls College Prep. At the scene, three evidence markers could be seen near the intersection of Adams Street and Bell Avenue, one placed next to a dark-colored backpack.
The other 14-year-old boy was shot and killed in Englewood around 8:45 p.m. James Sweezer was walking with a friend on the sidewalk in the 1400 block of West 73rd Street when someone in a passing dark-colored car opened fire, Deenihan said.
Sweezer was struck in the head and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he later died, police said. There’s “limited video” and “some firearm” evidence but detectives were still seeking witnesses to help identify the shooter, Deenihan said.
Chicago police Supt. David Brown called the shootings “unacceptable.”
“I think about those two young boys and I think about their potential. They are two of Chicago’s children robbed of their futures,” Brown said at the same news conference where Deenihan appeared.
About two hours earlier in Englewood, a 29-year-old woman was shot and killed in the 7400 block of South Vincennes Avenue while sitting alone in a car, police said.
No one was in custody in any of the three shootings.
Brown used the news conference to remind the public of $15,000 rewards for information leading to an arrest for murders. The tip line is 833-408-0069.
