(STMW) – A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting a fellow 15-year-old on Mother’s Day in the West Pullman community.
Vaughn Holeman and the gunman were outside in the 200 block of West 116th Street when Vaughn pointed out a passing vehicle about 3:40 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.
The 15-year-old with the gun then fired multiple shots at the vehicle, one of which struck Vaughn, authorities said.
The shooter has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession of ammunition without a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification Card. Police were not releasing the boy’s name because of his age.
Tiffany Woodley, a neighborhood mom whose children attended Haley Elementary Academy with Vaughn, told Homicide Watch Chicago she was sitting on her porch when she saw a white car drive past her house.
When Vaughn fell, Woodley ran to the corner as other children gathered around and held Vaughn in her arms and applied pressure to his wounds to try and stop the bleeding, she said.
Vaughn, of the 400 block of West 115th Street, was shot in the chest and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn less than an hour later, authorities said.
“He never said anything,” Woodley said. “It was traumatic, it really was. It was trying.”
Woodley said she knew Vaughn as an extension of her own children — the outgoing jokester one in their group. She described Vaughn as a pleasant young man who was well known and well liked in their West Pullman community.
Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related, authorities said.
“It’s just really sad that this situation was allowed to grow to this level. It’s like what is there to do to stop this? What is the answer?” Woodley said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
