A 14-year-old girl shot and killed another 14-year-old girl because of an argument over a boy, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said today as murder charges were filed.
The .38-caliber handgun used to kill Endia Martin Monday afternoon had been stolen from a car on April 13 and was brought to the scene by someone who knew the suspect and knew 'there was going to be a fight,' McCarthy said.
'What would have been, under any other circumstance, probably a fistfight between 14-year-old girls, because they were fighting over a boy, turned into a murder,' McCarthy told reporters. 'You introduce a firearm and you have a murder.'
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Police investigate Endia Martin shooting Endia Martin in a photograph provided by her family. More Englewood crime ' Video: Girl, 14, charged in shooting death of 14-year-old girl Police beef up as street violence rises See more stories ' Maps 942 S Garfield St, Hinsdale, IL, 60521, United States 6900 S Green St, Chicago, IL, 60621, United StatesThe suspect has been charged as a juvenile with murder, and her 24-year-old uncle and a 17-year-old boy are also facing charges.
'It appears that the two individuals we have in custody brought the gun to the scene - may have brought the gun to the scene - and were trying to discard the gun afterwards,' McCarthy said.
The suspect, said to be an honor roll student, was ordered held in custody after a brief court appearance this afternoon in juvenile court. The girl pulled a gun and attempted to shoot at a group of people gathered on a porch in the 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard around 4:30 p.m. Monday but the gun malfunctioned, said Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen Kain.
The girl handed the gun to others with her who cleared the malfunction and then handed the weapon back to her, Kain said. She then opened fire, striking Endia in the back and a 16-year-old girl in the upper left arm. The prosecutor asked that the girl be held in custody, saying she was charged with 'an extremely horrific event in the middle of the afternoon on a public way' that was 'premeditated' and that she 'posed a danger to the public and herself.' Judge Stuart Paul Katz agreed to hold her in custody.The girl's attorney, Elizabeth Tarzia, an assistant public defender, said the girl was on the honor roll at her high school and played on the freshman-sophomore basketball team and was a student leader. She has never been arrested before, the attorney said. The girl licked her lips nervously during the court appearance. No family members appeared to attend on her behalf.
A relative said Endia and the suspect were longtime close friends but recently began disputing over a boy. Their arguments escalated and they were supposed to meet up on Monday afternoon to work it out, said Lauren Joseph, 29, who identified herself as Martin's cousin.But as Martin was leaving Joseph's house, the 14-year-old rival ran up along with a group of other people.'They was all into it,' Joseph said. 'They said it was about some boy, but we don't know the whole story.'Joseph said she witnessed the shooting and had been at the police station until this morning making a statement and working with detectives.'Endia was smart, intelligent. She liked to dance and to sing. She didn't deserve this,' Joseph said as she stood outside her home where the shooting occurred. 'I can't stay here no more. I'm scared for my life here and I don't want to be here.'
Endia's stepfather, Kent Kennedy, said Endia and the suspect had been feuding on Facebook. 'They had words and she gunned our daughter down. For what? What reason would another girl gun down another child?
'It's senseless,' he added. 'Kids are dying so young nowadays. It's senseless. Parents shouldn't have to bury no child.'
Kennedy said the family recently moved Endia to Tilden Career Community Academy, closer to home, to keep her safe. Endia was killed about half a mile from her South Side home.
'No place in Chicago is safe for teenagers nowadays,' he said. 'No place is safe.'
Standing outside the emergency room Monday night, Kennedy said his stepdaughter was '14 years old, beautiful, nice spirit, active in sports. She loved music, loved to dance.'
'No child needs to be gunned down like a dog in the street. Nobody, period,' he said.
Addressing the shooter and witnesses, he added: 'This is not going to go away. . .We are not going to rest until you are prosecuted to the fullest. You, the people who assisted you, the crowd that walked over with the person with the gun - you're all involved and you're all guilty.'
Endia and the 16-year-old girl were among at least seven people shot in the city late Monday and early Tuesday morning.
So far this year, more than 50 children 16 or younger have been shot in Chicago, according to a Tribune analysis.
Monday's shooting comes little more than a week after five children, ranging in age from 11 to 15, were shot and wounded in the Park Manor neighborhood on the South Side. The children had been playing at a park near an elementary school and were walking home when a car pulled up and someone inside opened fire, police said.
dawilliams@tribune.com | Twitter: @neacynewslady
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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