Teen charged with murder in December shooting outside Benito Juarez high school
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police announced murder charges in the deadly shooting outside Benito Juarez Community Academy in December.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced the charges Friday afternoon. They said a 16-year-old boy has been charged with two felony counts of first degree murder, two felony counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated discharge of a weapon on school grounds, one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and four counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
Brown said the teen was arrested Thursday. His name has not been released due to his age, though Foxx said he is being charged as an adult.
"The fact of the matter is that we lost two teenagers and our suspect is also a teenager, so there are three teenagers who are lost in this. Not to mention the emotional toll this has taken on the Juarez students, the faculty and the staff," said Foxx.
On December 16, police were called to the Pilsen school for reports of shots fired. The shooting happened just as classes were letting out, sending staff and students scrambling for cover inside the building.
Police said four teens were shot outside the school. Two teen boys, aged 14 and 15, were shot in the head and died. Another 15-year-old boy was shot in the thigh and shoulder, and a 15-year-old girl suffered a graze wound to the thigh.
The two students killed were identified as 15-year-old Brandon Perez and 14-year-old Nathan Billegas. Perez was a student at Juarez, while Billegas was a freshman at Chicago Bulls College Prep.
"We're still lost on a lot of everything that has to do with losing our loved ones," said Inez Billegas, Nathan's stepmother. "You would think that, you know, my kid's coming back home. You send your kids to school and they're supposed to come back home."
Also in December, police released surveillance photos of a suspect they said was connected to the shooting. Brown said the teen charged is the person in the photos, and it was witnesses and the community that helped track him down.
"Detectives were identify the juvenile offender during this investigation. Area Three homicide support team ... he was placed into custody at the residence where we were surveilling," Brown said.
In the months since the shooting students have held walkouts to protest the violence, and the victims' families have accused Chicago Public Schools of not taking enough action in the wake of the shooting.
School leaders said they are working to address what students call violent gang culture in and around the school.
"We have had extra security inside the building and we will continue to do so until further notice, until the end of the year, if needed," said Jadine Chou, chief of safety and security for CPS.
'All I heard was shots': Sister was on phone with little brother when 2 killed outside CPS school
Police said they aren't sure of the motive but are investigating whether it was gang-related.
The teen is due in bond court Saturday.
