Police: CPS student ‘attacked,’ killed during open-campus lunch in Kenwood

CHICAGO — A 17-year-old CPS student was shot and killed in Kenwood Friday afternoon during lunch.

Just after 12 p.m., CPD and UCPD responded to calls of shots fired off-campus in the 1600 block of East 50th Place.

A 17-year-old boy was found with a gunshot wound to the head.

In an afternoon press conference, police said the boy was involved in an altercation with occupants of a vehicle. The vehicle then chased the boy to a parking lot, where CPD said two suspects exited the vehicle and shot the boy.

A gray Dodge Challenger with no vehicle license plates was seen fleeing the scene.

The boy was a student at Kenwood Academy High School and was out on open-campus lunch at the time.

“I ran and got down here,” resident Tarran Williams said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. It’s very devastating.

No suspects are in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Kenwood Academy released the following letter to families.

“The safety of your children is my top priority, and I am writing to inform you of a situation impacting our community. This afternoon, we received reports that shots had been fired near our school and that a member of our school community had been injured. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) and paramedics responded to the scene quickly to provide support. During the police response, we kept students indoors as a safety precaution. We are in close contact with CPD and the CPS Office of Safety and Security, and this incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the family of our school community member. To protect their privacy, I am unable to go into further detail.

Please know that we are taking this situation extremely seriously, and we have requested additional safety support for our school. If your child expresses any worries or concerns about this situation, please reach out to us and we will be able to provide them with extra support.“

CPS released the following statement.

“All of us at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are saddened to learn of the loss of another young life and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and community members impacted by this tragedy.”