14-year-old boy shot, killed in Homan Square alley remembered for 'goofy sense of humor'
He would have turned 15 next month, family says
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A wall of pictures lined a Homan Square alleyway Sunday as dozens of friends and family came out to pay tribute to 14-year-old Maleek Smith, who was shot dead Thursday afternoon.
He would have turned 15 next month.
"He didn't even get to celebrate his last birthday with us, but we're not going to cry for him because that's not how he would have wanted it. Maleek wouldn't want us to be sitting here crying for him. Maleek would want us to be turning up for him. And that's exactly what we're going to do," said Smith's sister, Makhia.
Smith's family said the teenager was on spring break from Muchin College Prep in the Loop. On Thursday, he was on his way to a nearby gas station to buy snacks from the convenience store, along with an older brother and a friend, when they were shot at.
"You were so wrong for this. My baby ran from you. You chased him. He didn't do nothing wrong, he just wanted to go to the store. He didn't even make it there," Makhia said. "Everybody here is wrong for not stepping up and saying anything about it cause we all know you heard something."
Even as they continue to search for answers, Smith's sisters insisted on remembering their little brother as a protector with a goofy sense of humor, who valued loyalty to family above all else.
"I feel like it was a blessing to know him," said Smith's other sister, Michala. "No matter what, he'd like us to smile and laugh and have a good time. That's the only way I can remember him. Just smiling and cracking jokes all the time."
Detectives said they are receiving very little cooperation from the community and no arrests have been made in this ongoing investigation.
