Student fatally shot outside school minutes after police left scene of disturbance, victim’s brother says

Cops had been called to a South Side high school after a “disturbance” broke out among students Monday evening — including one who had warned officials they should guard the exits because “this is not over,” a police report said.

An officer said police ensured no weapons were seen inside the school, CICS Loomis-Longwood at 1309 W. 95th St., and said they were able to “gain control of the situation” after they arrived. Police then made sure one of the students involved, 18-year-old Maurice Clay, was escorted outside and released to his older brother, Martell.

But minutes after police left, a small black car with a missing bumper drove up, and someone got out and fired “dozens of rounds,” the brother said — striking both of them.

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Martell Clay, 27, said he knew his little brother was not going to make it.

“I had him in my hands,” he told the Sun-Times. “I was there when he made his last breath.”

Clay was struck in his head, neck and leg and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 5:42 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Martell Clay was shot in his foot and taken to Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park in good condition.

Martell Clay said his brother was months away from graduating and had dreams of playing professional sports. He was a two-sport athlete on the school’s football and basketball teams. He had plans to play football in college and dreams of eventually playing in the NFL.

Maurice was at basketball practice Monday after school when the police report said he and other students were involved in an altercation.

A school official told police a “new” student had been “causing gang-related issues” at the school, the report said.

One of the students involved in the scuffle allegedly said, “Have somebody on all the exits because this is not over,” the report said. “You should cancel school tomorrow.”

Security guards also informed officers another “individual” had attempted to enter the school and was gesturing inside his jacket “like he had a weapon,” according to the police report.

Officers said they spoke with a school official who said Maurice Clay and another student were later refusing to leave the school gym, but said things were “under control” after the students were escorted out. Police said they stayed with Maurice Clay until his brother arrived in an Uber to pick him up.

Martell Clay said he saw the police squad car when he arrived. After police left, the two waited for another brother to arrive, Martell Clay said, so they could go home to safety.

The shooting, he said, took place 10-15 minutes later.

“He was a good little kid,” Martell Clay said of his brother.

Investigators recovered multiple shell casings from two guns, one of which was possibly a rifle, the report said.

Chicago Public Schools officials referred questions to Chicago International Charter School officials, who did not respond to requests for comment.