2 teens fatally shot within hours in Chicago identified

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 13- and a 16-year-old boy were killed in two separate shootings that occurred only three hours apart in Chicago Monday night. Both victims were identified Tuesday.

Karina Betancourt can't comprehend that her little brother is dead.

"He would have turned 14 in September. Yes. But did they let him? No," she said.

Leonardo Betancourt, 13, of the 4500-block of South Hermitage Avenue, was at a park with Nora Uribe's nephew Monday evening when she said he hopped in an SUV with friends.

"He said, 'Don't go. Come on, let's keep playing.' He went around the block and that was the end of it," Uribe said.

Police said around 6:30 p.m., a bullet shattered the windows of the SUV and struck Leo.

The driver dropped the boy off at a nearby fire station at West 45th Street and South Ashland Avenue. Paramedics rushed him to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:44 p.m., authorities said.

"They took him there because they wanted to save him. We know that much," Karina Betancourt said.

Investigators examined the SUV, which had a car seat inside. It is unclear whether the teen was the intended target.

"We didn't see any windows in the car. They were trying to kill somebody. Not Leo," Karina Betancourt said.

Leo's family said the seventh grader earned As and Bs in school and was a good soccer player.

His family said they have wanted to leave the neighborhood because of gang violence, but now it is too late. Alderman Raymond Lopez of the 15th Ward said he has asked for help.

"A month or so ago, we asked Sheriff Tom Dart to come down and assist police officers with stabilizing the community and bringing some security. We've had some good reports so far. We've had a lot of positive feedback from the community. Obviously the events of last night show us we have a long way to go in changing the culture of violence in these neighborhoods," Lopez said.

In another shooting round 9:35 p.m. in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, police said 16-year-old Randall Young and a 14-year-old boy were shot in an alley in the 7100-block of South Laflin Street.

Young, of the 1300-block of West 73rd Street, was shot several times. He was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m., the medical examiner's office said.

The 14-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the buttocks. He was transported to St. Bernard Hospital, where his condition stabilized.

The shooting is under investigation.