15-year-old boy shot to death on West Side back porch set to start high school in fall: family

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 15-year-old boy was found fatally shot on the back porch of his West Garfield Park home just weeks before he was set to begin high school, according to family members and Chicago police.

Police said Lasiah Palmer was found with a gunshot wound to the head shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday in the 4600-block of West Jackson Boulevard. The shooting is being investigated as a homicide. No suspects have been identified and no arrests have been announced.

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Family members said Palmer's mother discovered her oldest child after returning home.

"Having to be his parent and see him like that," cousin Diamond Dortch said. "She lost her first child."

The circumstances surrounding the shooting have left the family searching for answers.

"We don't even know how long he was even there," Dortch said.

Dortch said the family has struggled with not being able to say goodbye.

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"So not even being able to give a proper goodbye, or to pray over his body to make sure he's OK and well," she said.

Palmer had recently graduated from eighth grade at KIPP One Academy and planned to start his freshman year at Rowe-Clark College Prep High School in the fall.

Family members said those plans, and the milestones they represented, were taken away.

"He won't get to go to prom, or he won't get to graduate high school, or think about college. All of those milestones every teenager gets to do; he won't get to do those things," Dortch said.

The loss has left a lasting impact on relatives, who described Palmer as a child whose future was cut short.

"When we see these kids we don't realize that they don't get to live life anymore. You shouldn't have to worry about being on your back porch and something happening to you. He was still in the save haven of his home," Dortch said. "You don't understand what life you took. You don't understand the void you placed in our family, and the hole that will forever be there."

Chicago police continue to investigate the shooting. Authorities have not released information about any suspects or arrests.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the boy's family.

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