The victim's mother identified him as Kahlif Norwood. She said they don't live far from the shooting and her son was in the area visiting friends when he was killed.
The shooting took place at about 12:18 a.m. in the 5000-block of North Winthrop Avenue.
Police said the teen was standing outside when he was approached by a group of eight male suspects.
One of the suspects took out a gun and fired in the victim's direction, hitting him multiple times, police said.
The victim was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Irene Villa said she heard the shots ring out and immediately called police.
"I heard a car screeching and then five gunshots and then I just heard somebody saying my son my son my son and I heard people on that side this side everywhere," Villa said.
She saw the teen get taken away in an ambulance.
"What do we do?" Villa said. "This is an ongoing problem. It needs to stop."
Another neighbor said he was walking his dog when he also heard the gunfire.
"We had the same situation, not even a month ago, so as soon as we heard, we said yeah that's gunshots again," Thiago Cavalcante, who lives nearby said.
"The mother of the person was screaming, my son, my son, and she just kept screaming and screaming," Silver said.
The teen's mother did not want to speak on camera described Kahlif as a smart, loving brother to his siblings and family.
No one is in custody and Area Three detectives are investigating.