Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― It's been another deadly weekend for Chicago teenagers. Two young people were killed Friday and Saturday.

CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports that one of the shootings happened outside Simeon High School, which is open to students on Saturdays as an alternative to street violence. A student was gunned down while classmates inside were discussing alternatives to gun violence.

"We were just talking about it, and then some people ran in to tell us that somebody got shot," said Ronnie Mosley, a junior at Simeon and member of the local school council. "It shows you that something has to be done."

18-year-old Chavez Clarke was going home after attending Saturday classes when he was shot and killed in front of his classmates.

He was shot in the parking lot of Simeon Career Academy, located at 81st and Vincennes, just after 4 p.m.

Clarke was a student at Hyde Park Academy and was attending classes at Simeon to make up for missed credits.

Police say four men are in custody, but no charges had been filed as of 8 p.m. Sunday. A weapon was recovered from the scene and the shooter is one of those in custody.

An autopsy conducted Sunday showed Clarke died of a gunshot wound to the chest. His death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner's office said.

Clarke is the twentieth student from a Chicago public school to be killed by gunfire so far this school year. That number is fast approaching last year's total of 24 for the entire school year.

Another teenager was gunned down Friday evening as he was walking back home.

Fifteen-year-old Miguel Pedro was shot in the abdomen by someone flashing signs and shouting gang slogans.

Pedro's cousin, Edgar Fernandez, said Pedro went out for some ice cream and never came back. "He went to the store and when people from behind they just yelled at him and they started shooting and he just turned around and one of his friends started grabbing on his sleeve and pulled him, sort of pulled him so he'd go on the floor I guess, and he just started yelling 'I'm not a gang banger, I'm not a gang banger.'"

Pedro was shot a block away from his home and residents in his neighborhood say they're tired of being terrorized by gangs.

Neighbor Esmeralda Perez said, "The thing is that gangs come ... the boys that get near here they come from different areas that don't even live here. He was the only one that lived here."

According to his family, Pedro used to attend Noble Elementary, a Chicago public school on the Northwest Side.

"It could mean different things,'' Deputy Supt. of Patrol Beatrice Cuello said of the shootings. "It could mean they were recruited into gangs. Some of them were standing on corners. Some were standing around other gang members. We can't say they were all in gangs.''

Cuello said the department was in contact with CPS officials regarding all of the shootings so staff could watch for any retaliation.

Ameena Matthews, who works with the anti-violence group Operation Ceasefire, said she doubted the incidents were over gang territory or issues, but rather loose rivalries on the street that shift from block to block.

"They are out in the street without any type of structure,'' Matthews said. "They're angry, mad as hell, and they're acting out. It has nothing to do with boy testosterone. Their hearts are mad.''

Earlier this month, 18-year-old Ruben Ivy was gunned down outside Crane High School on the West Side. A 15-year-old was arrested and charged in connection with the shooting.

Calling the recent spate of shootings involving school-age children "a state of emergency," the Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina parish, where Chavez attended, renewed his call for stricter gun laws and parents taking a more active role in their children's lives.

"We're becoming immune almost to children dying," he said. "There's gotta be outrage. This is everybody's problem; I don't care if you live in Winnetka or on 79th Street."

The STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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