Former Three-Sport Star At Proviso East Shot And Killed
Updated 05/16/13 - 4:05 p.m.
MAYWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- A former star athlete at Proviso East High School was fatally shot in west suburban Maywood overnight.
Police said DeShawn McCarthy was shot 11 p.m. Wednesday while riding in a car with friends near 4th Avenue and Fillmore Street in west suburban Maywood.
Witnesses say they heard about seven or eight shots. One of the bullets struck McCarthy in the head.
One of the bullets also hit a wall outside Keonia Ellis' bedroom.
"I immediately jumped out of bed and grabbed my kids and got on the floor," she said. "We stayed on the floor until it stopped."
Maywood Police Chief Tim Curry said McCarthy was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died on Thursday.
McCarthy was on the football, basketball and track teams at Proviso East before graduating last year.
"He was just a great person," said childhood friend Ryan Jones. "If he had a dollar, he's split it with you, a kind person."
He had just finished his freshman year at Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota, and was back home for summer break.
At Dakota, he went by the name Dashamone McCarty, but on his Facebook page and at Proviso East, he used the name DeShawn McCarthy
His college basketball coach, Cory Fehringer, said McCarthy "had a tremendous impact on many."
"DeShawn McCarthy. We pray for you. We were truly blessed to have you in our lives for a short time. We will forever miss you and remember you," Fehringer wrote on Twitter. "A family, Dakota College, our program, and Chicago are full of deep sadness and emptiness."
Dakota College campus dean Ken Grosz said McCarthy was "a great kid."
"We enjoyed having him in the classroom, we enjoyed coaching him in basketball and football, and folks enjoyed watching him as well. He was full of life, full of spirit, and a very popular young man," Grosz said in a written statement. "The campus and the community express their thoughts to his family and friends. Our condolences and sympathy are with them at this time."
Police said they do not have any suspects in the shooting.
