A 17-year-old high school student tragically died when he was fatally shot while traveling to school in Chicago.
Pedro Ramirez was walking to the bus stop on his way to school when he was shot multiple times in the Back of the Yards neighborhood around 7:40 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, according to ABC 7. Ramirez was then transported to the Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Chicago Police Department said that at least three masked gunmen got out of a dark-colored SUV and seemingly began shooting at random, according to the outlet. Three victims were struck by the shooter in total, with a 55-year-old man and 61-year-old man also being injured by gunfire.
“I saw them pick up the backpack. He was laying. They were doing CPR, the cops. There were bystanders before trying to help him before the cops arrived,” a witness told ABC 7 of the shooting. “I don’t think that boy was doing anything bad. I think he was going to school. He had a backpack. He was still a baby.”
Police said the 55-year-old was shot in the right arm and the 61-year-old was shot in the back. Both men were taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition and their current conditions are not known.
A person of interest has since been taken into custody, police confirmed to the outlet. However, authorities did not share any additional details about a potential motive for the shooting.
Ramirez was a straight A-student and was on the honor roll while attending Tilden High School near Canaryville. In addition to being a star student, he was captain of the soccer team and played volleyball.
“Our lives changed completely, and this is like a dream,” Eloisa Garcia, Ramirez’s mother, told ABC 7 following her son’s death.
Garcia’s partner, Asucena Velasquez, also told the outlet, “It’s too much violence in a streets, in the morning. He was just going to school. That’s all he was doing.”
Ramirez was a dedicated student, and his friend Mario Rosales told the outlet, “He always said, ‘I will never miss school unless I’m very sick, or unless I’m dying.’ He actually died, so it really hurts my heart about those words that he said now.”
A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help Ramirez’s family with funeral costs following the tragedy. The fundraising page said he had a “whole life ahead of him,” adding that he was “so young, so cheerful, so helpful.”
“His family is going through an incredibly difficult time. No mother should have to endure such pain,” the page added. “Pedrito was a kind young man, loved by many, and always willing to lend a hand. He was one of those people who truly leave a lasting impression.”
