Oct 18, 2007 6:23 am US/Central
Family Mourns 10-Year-Old Boy Caught In Crossfire
Arthur 'A.J.' Jones Lost Life To Shots In Fight By Rival Gangs
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Arthur "A.J." Jones was fatally shot Wednesday evening on the South Side. He was a fifth grader at Oliver Holmes school.
CBS
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Candles, stuffed animals and cards marked the spot Wednesday night were 10-year-old Arthur Jones fell after being shot in crossfire on the South Side.
CBS
Another bright and promising life has been cut short by gang violence in Chicago. A South Side community is coming together to remember a talented young boy and to deliver an urgent plea to stop the violence.
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, friends and family members have placed teddy bears and inflatable plastic cartoon characters at the site of Wednesday evening's shooting.
"We've had enough violence in our community; we've had enough killings in our community," said Pastor Roosevelt Watkins of Bethlehem Star Church.
Ten-year-old Arthur Jones, known by friends and family as simply A.J., was shot to death. Police say he was caught in crossfire as he was going to a nearby store, right after school, to buy soda pop and candy.
"We have some very promising leads right now. We're following up on that," said Commander Joseph Patterson of the 7th District Police. "It's too early on the investigation right now for us to make any comment or give out any pertinent information."
Residents say gangs on both sides of 55th Street constantly fight over territory. Police say there are aware 55th Street is the border line between two rival gangs, which creates all kinds of violence. It was precisely this violence that prompted the shooting in which Jones lost his life.
Crisis intervention experts were counseling students Thursday morning at Holmes Elementary School were Jones was a fifth-grader.
"Some of them were out here yesterday with him and one of the little girls in my class actually was walking with him as he got shot," said the victim's homeroom teacher, Kiesha Shaw-Nobles.
"We want to say on behalf of this family this has got to stop," said Pastor Charles Jenkins of Fellowship Baptist Church. "If you know who did it, don't blow a whistle; blow a trumpet."
The Chicago Public Schools and the family's church are offering a combined 15,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
The boy told his family his dream was to become a pastor and serve his community.
His cousin says the family will miss the boy who loved church, school and wrestling.
"He had the smile, he had the smarts. He could actually have an adult conversation with you," said Marcel Perez. "He was real smart. Everybody just loved him. There was nothing you could say to him he wouldn't come back with a correct answer, or a logical answer."
"The whole world was there and saw this," said a Wentworth Area detective, who said that many people who witnessed the shooting were being interviewed by police. Police say they are confident an arrest is coming soon.
CBS 2's Rafael Romo and Kristyn Hartman contributed to this report. cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
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