An innocent high school student was senselessly shot and killed on the streets of Chicago while he was walking to school.
Pedro Ramirez, 17, died on Tuesday morning after shots rang out in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, which is on the city’s South Side.
The shooting unfolded just before 8am when a stolen black Jeep Cherokee carrying multiple masked assailants opened fire on two men inside a red minivan, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The two men have not been identified but were aged 61 and 55. They were shot, but were able to drive away and seek help.
Emergency responders then transported them to a nearby hospital. The 55-year-old man has been released and the 61-year-old man is in stable condition.
However, the teenager was caught in the crossfire and sustained life-threatening injuries.
The police report noted that Ramirez was struck on the right side and was pronounced dead less than an hour later at a local children’s hospital.
Asucena Velazquez, Pedro’s mother, told local ABC affiliate, WLS, that there was ‘too much violence in the streets,’ after her son’s tragic death.
Pedro Ramirez, 17, a Chicago highschooler, was killed in a senseless shooting on Tuesday morning while walking to school
Pedro’s mother, Asucena Velazquez, described her son as a kind young man who was on the honor roll at school
Pedro’s family said there was ‘too much violence in the streets’ after he was killed by a bullet when shots rang out in his neighborhood. A person of interest has been apprehended
It is unclear if the four assailants were targeting the two men in the red minivan. After the shooting was reported, police chased the stolen Jeep, but three of the individuals escaped on foot.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed to the Daily Mail that one individual has been apprehended in connection with the shooting and is being investigated as a person of interest.
Charges have yet to be filed against the person of interest as of Wednesday afternoon, and authorities have not released their identity.
The Daily Mail has reached out to city officials for the police report.
A witness told WLS that she saw concerned bystanders rush to Pedro when he was shot before police arrived.
‘I don’t think that boy was doing anything bad. I think he was going to school. He had a backpack. He was still a baby,’ she said.
A tire shop employee told WLS that the two male victims pulled into the store for help after they were shot.
‘I saw a car at high speed, coming down the alley with a flat tire, so first thing I thought, it was a customer looking to get a tire repair,’ the employee, who identified as Leo, said.
Pedro’s friends and family said he was dedicated to school and described him as a caring teen
Police said masked assailants opened fire while driving a stolen Jeep. Two other individuals were shot but survived
Pedro’s mom said the assailants who killed her son ‘robbed’ him of his future. The perpetrators have yet to be identified
Police said that two other individuals were shot but drove to seek help. The victims were later transported to a local hospital
Witnesses who spoke to WLS said they did not want to be interviewed on camera out of fear.
Velazquez described her son to the Chicago Sun-Times as a respectful and caring young man.
‘It never crossed my mind that my boy would get hurt going to school,’ she said. ‘They robbed my son of his future.’
Pedro’s girlfriend, Adelynn Peña, told WLS that she was struggling to cope. ‘One point, you’re just talking, and then from another, he’s just gone. And it is very hard to just, like, put that in your mind just that you’re never going to see him again.’
Mario Rosales, Pedro’s best friend, added, ‘He always said, “I will never miss school unless I’m very sick, or unless I’m dying. He actually died, so it really hurts my heart about those words that he said now.’
Pedro’s stepmother, Eloisa Garcia, told Fox 32 Chicago that his mother raised her on his own after his father died.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family in the wake of Pedro’s death. The Daily Mail has reached out to the family.
