Chicago’s public school students continue to die from gun violence at an alarming rate.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 19th and 20th CPS students were killed by gunfire and “capped a violent two days in which at least seven teens were shot, including the two who were killed.”
Right before a Chicago public high school student was gunned down outside Simeon Career Academy on Saturday, a group of students inside the school were brainstorming on ways to curb 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.”
The shooting after Saturday classes at Simeon was one of two this weekend that claimed the lives of Chicago Public Schools students. They were the 19th and 20th CPS students killed in gun violence this school year, officials said.
Chavez Clarke, 18, was shot and killed about 4 p.m., as he walked out of Saturday classes at Simeon, 8147 S. Vincennes. He was the second student in three weeks killed by gunfire after being dismissed from school, authorities said.
Clarke, who was enrolled at Hyde Park Academy but taking Saturday classes at Simeon, was with his twin brother when he was shot, authorities said. Police think the shooting could have been motivated by retaliation, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
Three suspects, including the alleged shooter, were immediately arrested. A weapon also was recovered, police said.
The shooting capped a violent two days in which at least seven teens were shot, including the two who were killed.
The other student killed was 15-year-old Miguel Pedro, a CPS student shot while walking to a Northwest Side shop Friday night. His mother said he was an eighth-grader at Alfred Nobel Elementary School.
“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.”
This weekend’s violence follows the March 7 shooting of 18-year-old Ruben Ivy, who was gunned down outside Crane High School on the West Side. A 15-year-old has been charged.
