Teen Killed, Mom Critically Wounded In Home Invasion
Updated 10/18/11 - 5:22 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 16-year-old boy was killed and his mother was critically injured when they were both shot in the head during a home invasion Tuesday morning in the Avondale neighborhood.
Two gunmen in dark clothing and masks stormed into their home on the 3400 block of North Lawndale Avenue around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday and shot the teen and his 33-year-old mother in the head.
Andre Vasquez, 16, and his mother were both taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. Vasquez was later pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
His mother, Krystal Hethcoat, has been in surgery Tuesday afternoon and was listed in critical condition.
Tuesday afternoon, a relative claimed the shooting stemmed from a dispute with a close family friend, who was actually behind the wheel of the getaway car involved in the shooting.
Police arrested three people not far away from the scene. Those people were being questioned late Tuesday afternoon. Officers also recovered a gun.
"I wish my family the best with everything, but there's nothing you can do now. It's at that point. You can't change things," said a man named Antonio, who said Hethcoat is his cousin's fiancée.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser Reports
Podcast
Antonio said that, as Hethcoat's daughter was about to leave the house Tuesday morning, two men wearing ski masks rushed into the house, taking her with them.
"All I know is that people just had to come in and rob them, something like that," Antonio said. "They came in looking for something. Pretty much, from what I heard, they couldn't find whatever they were looking for, got mad and did what they did."
What they did, Antonio said, was bring both mother and son to the basement. Both were bound with duct tape and shot in the head. Antonio said Hethcoat's daughter dodged bullets and was not hurt.
Ald. Rey Colon (35th) said an alert city worker saw two men wearing ski masks flee from the home. The worker called 911 and police arrested those two men and a third suspect a short time later.
"He saw them throw something in the car which, I think, he thought was the weapon and the tape. And they took off, he said, in a Cougar," Colon said. "That's what we all need to do. I mean, that's what our citizens need to do. If you see something, you call."
Colon said the worker's quick thinking helped police pick the suspects up a short distance from the crime scene. He said the city worker was still talking to police Tuesday afternoon and was going to pick the suspects out of a lineup.
Colon said he plans to honor that city worker later this month.
Meantime, a relative said the family friend involved in the dispute enticed two men to carry out the home invasion, telling them there was something of value in the house.
