At least 16 teens shot in Chicago over weekend, some fatally
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Many families in Chicago are in mourning this weekend as shootings claimed the lives of multiple teenagers. Many of those teenagers were looking forward to the first day of school Monday.
"He was a baby. He was a baby that didn't do anything to nobody," said Athena Harshaw, aunt of 14-year-old Rayjon Harshaw.
Harshaw, Rayjon's legal guardian, spoke through tears, about the boy who was found shot in the head and chest near the sidewalk just a few houses from his grandmother's home Saturday. He had been living there since he was a baby.
It happened just before 7 p.m. in the Calumet Heights neighborhood. The gunman took off with Rayjon's cell phone.
As his aunt spoke with CBS 2's Asal Rezaei outside their home, the principal of his former elementary school was inside talking with the family.
"She was like, 'I know they have taken him from his family, but they've taken him from the world,'" Harshaw said. "She knew. She as a principal said he was going to be somebody."
Rayjon's aunt described him as a model student who had just signed up to be a mentor for others.
"He was sweet, kind. He never got into anything. Awards after awards. Straight A student. Fourteen years old. His bookbag was already packed. He was ready to go to school for his freshman year at Hyde Park," she said.
The shooting that claimed Rayjon's life adds to at least 16 teenagers under the age of 19 who have been shot across Chicago since Friday.
Ashuntice Wilburn, 17, who was set to start her senior year Monday, was at a park in the the Austin neighborhood Saturday night when she and a 16-year-old boy were shot by an unknown suspect.
She did not survive.
The grief is something these families never imagined they'd go through, especially with children who were looking ahead to bright futures.
Ashuntice had dreams of becoming dental hygienist.
Her parents say they tried to protect her.
"She was humble," her mom said. "She was sweet. She wasn't made for none of these streets. And I lost my baby to these streets. Nobody could never understand the hurt. Cause I know I should've been home, and she should've been here."
Her family says the other teen shot is cooperating with police.
Activists were also in attendance at the vigil, calling on shooters to turn themselves in.
"How many more are we going to lose before Monday at the start of school? The kids want books, not bullets," said Andrew Holmes.
No one is in custody in Ashuntice's shooting death.
