Two boys, 14 and 17, charged with killing Senn High student, wounding 2 others

A 14-year-old boy is charged with killing a Senn High School student and wounding two others after jumping from a stolen SUV and firing at least 15 times late last month.

The boy and the 17-year-old getaway driver were each charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and attempted murder, Supt. Larry Snelling announced at a press conference at police headquarters.

The younger boy, whose name was not released because he was charged as a juvenile, is also facing an aggravated battery charge. He was ordered detained at the Juvenile Detention Center.

The older boy, Kashawn Perdue, was charged as an adult. During his hearing, Judge Ankur Srivastava called the Jan. 31 attack “an act of terror” and ordered Perdue to also be held at the detention center.

Both teens are students at Uplift Community High School, which is about two miles south of Senn. Neither was in attendance on the day of the shooting, prosecutors said.

Instead, Perdue was driving a stolen Honda HRV that was seen on surveillance video circling the area near Senn High School before classes got out, according to prosecutors.

The three victims, all students at Senn, were walking home about 3:30 p.m. when the Honda cut them off in an alley in the 1200 block of West Thorndale Avenue, prosecutors said.

The 14-year-old got out of the rear passenger seat of the Honda, approached the group and fired at least 15 times, prosecutors said, striking all three with .380-caliber rounds.

Daveon Gibson, 16, was struck in the chest and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

Another boy, also 16, suffered gunshot wounds to the jaw, chest and arm. He was taken to St. Francis in critical condition, police said. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

The SUV, with Florida plates, sped off. It had been reported stolen two days earlier, according to Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti.

Detectives tracked it through video surveillance cameras and found it on Feb. 2 parked in the 4100 block of North Kenmore Avenue, where Perdue and the 14-year-old were recorded abandoning the car, prosecutors said.

Staff members at Uplift High School identified Perdue and the 14-year-old from surveillance images, prosecutors said. Items of clothing they were seen wearing on the videos were allegedly recovered from their homes.

The teens were taken into custody Tuesday and charges were approved Wednesday.

An assistant public defender for Perdue argued in court that he had no knowledge that his passenger was planning a shooting, suggesting her client thought the younger teen was only planning to fight the victims because of issues he had with them.

Judge Srivastava said he didn’t buy the argument, noting in his ruling that although Perdue was not accused of pulling the trigger, it “could not have occurred” without him.

The judge noted Perdue had driven the younger boy in a stolen car, circled the area and later cut off the victims, which the judge said indicated the shooting was “premeditated and targeted.”

“As to whether you were involved in this murder, there’s no question in my mind that you are,” Srivastava said.

The charges come a day before the Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote to remove Chicago police officers from inside of schools.

Should that happen, Snelling said his department will “continue to do what we’ve always done — protect our children.”

“When those kids are on their way to school during arrival times, we will have our officers present ... as well as dismissal,” Snelling said. “And if there is any threat of any violence or a possibility of violence around those schools, we will still have special attention there.”