Teen charged with attempted murder in Lawndale shooting that left boy paralyzed

A teenage boy is facing charges in a shooting that left another boy paralyzed from the waist down last month in the Lawndale neighborhood.

Tamond Rayford, 16, is charged with shooting the 15-year-old boy about 6 p.m. Jan. 18 in front of the younger boy’s home in the 1200 block of South Homan, according to Chicago Police and Cook County prosecutors.

Rayford is being charged as an adult with felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to authorities.

He was denied bail at a hearing Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the 15-year-old victim had just walked into his home when Rayford approached with a handgun and fired multiple times into the apartment through an open front door. The boy was struck five times in the legs and back. At least one bullet struck his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down.

Rayford ran off after the shooting and the boy was taken to Stroger Hospital for treatment, where he is also suffering organ failure, authorities said.

Two witnesses were able to identify Rayford as the shooter.

Prosecutors said Rayford is a member of the Beam Team street gang and that a sibling of the boy he shot is a member of the New Breeds street gang, but did not offer a motive for the shooting in court.

Rayford, of south suburban Sauk Village, was taken into custody Sunday morning in South Holland, according to police records.

He was scheduled to return to court March 6.