Police said the 14-year-old boy was found with multiple gunshot wounds on South Carpenter Street.
CHICAGO, IL — A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed late Thursday on Chicago’s South Side after officers responded to the 8000 block of South Carpenter Street for a report of a person shot, police said.
The killing drew a police investigation, grief from a youth football program and concern from neighbors in Auburn Gresham, where officers and paramedics found the boy with multiple gunshot wounds. No arrests had been announced Friday, and Area Two detectives were investigating what led to the shooting.
Police said officers were called just after 11:30 p.m. Thursday and found the teen wounded in the street area near South Carpenter Street. Chicago Fire Department paramedics treated him at the scene before taking him in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office had not officially identified him in early reports. The Midwest Hawks Youth Football program said the boy had been part of its football family. Community activist pastor Donovan Price said the death reaches far beyond the scene, adding, “When a child is shot, there are so many, so many people affected.”
Investigators focused part of their search on a nearby alley, where police tape marked off the area as officers looked for evidence. Police had not released a suspect description, a possible motive or details about whether the boy was targeted. Neighbors told reporters they heard as many as eight gunshots before officers arrived. The shooting happened in a residential part of the South Side where late-night police lights, crime tape and evidence markers became the first public signs of the investigation. Officials said the circumstances of the attack remained unknown Friday. No weapon recovery had been announced, and police had not said whether any witnesses were being interviewed.
The boy’s death came as Chicago families, schools and youth programs were moving deeper into summer, a period when community groups often increase outreach after shootings involving teenagers. The Midwest Hawks Youth Football program described the teen as beloved by his parents, brothers and former teammates. In a tribute, the program said his memory would remain part of the team’s family and that his smile, presence and impact would not be forgotten. The program said it planned to hold a vigil in the next few days. The boy’s death also added another case to a year in which South Side neighborhoods have seen repeated violence involving teens, including fatal and nonfatal shootings near homes, schools and gathering places.
Area Two detectives were assigned to the case, the standard next step after a fatal shooting in that part of the city. Detectives were expected to review evidence from the block, canvass for video and speak with people who may have heard or seen the gunfire. The Cook County medical examiner’s office was expected to release the boy’s name after formal identification and family notification. Police had not announced charges or a person in custody as of Friday’s reports. The investigation remained in its early stages, with the most important questions still unanswered: who fired the shots, why the boy was on the block and what happened in the moments before the gunfire.
Nearby resident Marilyn Jones said the shooting was painful to hear about because the victim was so young. “It breaks my heart because I have a 22-year-old son,” Jones said. “And for a kid to be 14 years old, he’s just barely beginning to live his life.” The scene on South Carpenter Street left neighbors weighing another act of violence against the ordinary life around it: homes, families and children beginning summer break. Price said his thoughts went quickly to the wider circle of grief, including teachers, coaches and relatives who would have to absorb the loss after the police tape came down.
The case stood Friday with no arrests announced, no public suspect description and detectives still gathering evidence. The next public milestones are the medical examiner’s official identification of the boy and the vigil planned by the Midwest Hawks Youth Football program.
Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.