A teenager was killed and a second was wounded on Wednesday afternoon in a shooting near a South Side high school just three blocks away from the planned Obama Presidential Center.
The boy and girl, both 16 years old, were at a bus stop just after 3:20 p.m. in the 6300 block of South Stony Island Avenue, less than a block away from Hyde Park Academy High School, when someone approached and opened fire, according to Chicago police.
The boy was shot multiple times and transported to UChicago Medicine in critical condition and later pronounced dead, police said. His identity wasn’t immediately released, but an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
The girl was shot in her left leg and was also transported to the same hospital in fair condition.
In a statement to the Tribune late Wednesday night, a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson wrote, “All of us at (CPS) are saddened to learn of the loss of a young person’s life and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, school and community members impacted by this tragedy.”
Amid the shooting, Hyde Park Academy — which was dismissing students for the day when shots were fired nearby — went into a soft lockdown.
“I am very sorry to share that we have learned that some members of our school community were impacted by this incident,” principal Rosette Edinburg wrote in a letter to the campus later, adding she couldn’t share additional details for privacy reasons. Crisis and care teams from both the district and the school will be on hand to help support students and staff.
“We are extremely saddened by this incident,” Edinburg continued in her letter, “and will do everything we can to help our school community heal.”
No one was in custody as of late Wednesday afternoon as Wentworth Area detectives investigated the shooting.
