Mar 29, 2008 10:05 pm US/Central
15-Year-Old Shot And Killed On West Side
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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15-year-old Miguel Pedro died March 29 after being shot in the abdomen suing a gang-related incident.
CBS
A family on Chicago's West Side is demanding answers after the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy. As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, neighbors are fed up with gang violence in the area.
The shooting happened at 9:55 p.m. Friday at 1624 N. Keeler Ave., according to police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.
Witnesses say they heard five shots. When the shooting was over, 15-year-old Miguel Pedro was lying on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Pedro, of the 1500 block of North Keeler Ave., was pronounced dead at 4:18 a.m. Saturday at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
"He went to the store and people from behind they just yelled at him and they started shooting and he just turned around," said Edgar Fernandez, Pedro's cousin. "He just started yelling at them, 'I'm not a gang banger; I'm not a gang banger.'"
Pedro's parents say he had gone to the store to buy some ice cream Friday just before 10 p.m.
Efraín Pedro, Miguel's father, said he heard gunshots, looked outside and saw his son lying on the floor.
Residents say it's not the first time violence erupted in the neighborhood. They also say they're tired of being terrorized by gangs.
"We have that problem with gangs all the time--all the time," said neighbor Esmeralda Perez.
Perez says "CAPS" meeting and other efforts to reduce violence haven't been successful in curtailing violence so far.
"The thing is that gangs come…the boys that get near here, they come from different areas that don't even live here," Perez said. "He was the only one that lived here."
It's been a violent week in Chicago. Last Tuesday, 15-year-old Eric Reed was shot at 89th Street and Exchange on the South Side.
Friday night, another 15-year-old was shot in the leg at 69th Street and Bishop.
Chicago police confirm the shooting is gang-related, but it's unclear if the victim was the target or simply caught in the crossfire.
Meantime, gun control advocates are calling for tougher gun laws.
Calling this a "state of emergency" Father Michael Pfleger is organizing a march on the State of Illinois Building Tuesday from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Pfleger says he'll demonstrate every time a child is killed.
The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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