Person in custody in South Loop shooting that killed teen, wounded another

A person was in custody Saturday night in connection with a shooting during a large gathering in the South Loop that left a teenage boy dead and another wounded.

Officers responded shortly after 8 p.m. to a report of gunfire and found the two wounded in the parking lot of a bank in the 500 block of West Roosevelt Road, Chicago police said in a statement.

Officers treated both until they could be taken by paramedics to Stroger Hospital, police said.

A 17-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and neck and died, police said. He was identified as Jeremy Smith by the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Sunday found he died of a gunshot wound to his back.

The other, a 15-year-old boy, was shot in the leg and listed in fair condition, police said.

A weapon was recovered at the scene, and a person was taken into custody, but additional information was not immediately available.

Area 3 detectives were investigating, and police said outreach partners were “on scene providing intervention to the teens.”

Pastor Donovan Price, of New Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, who advocates for victims of gun violence, was at the scene after the shooting. He said the incident happened during a gathering of young people that had been planned in advance through social media.

According to police, nine teenagers in the large crowd were charged with misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct, assault and obstructing a peace officer.

Similar gatherings have taken place at that location or nearby in the past, Price said, adding that he predicts they will continue as the months get warmer.

“This isn’t the first time that they’ve been there and unfortunately it may not be the last time,” Price said. “There has to be some planning for those type of situations, maybe some type of task force, some type of thing that plans for that.”

Last July, roughly 40 teenagers faced criminal charges after fighting broke out as police tried to disperse a large crowd in the 100 block of West Roosevelt, blocks away from the scene of Saturday’s shooting.

Price said it will take efforts through multiple avenues to discourage crowds from forming in the first place, including investing in more spaces for youth in their neighborhoods.

But much smaller steps can be taken immediately, he said.

“If more people would deal with the kids that are closest to them, show them the dangers, present them with options, then perhaps that would be the difference,” Price said.

Contributing: Sophie Sherry