CPD working to determine motive after 17-year-old boy shot near West Ridge soccer game

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Was it a dispute over a soccer game or a robbery?

Chicago police are trying to determine the motive behind a shooting that seriously injured a 17-year-old boy on Sunday afternoon.

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The Stone Scholastic Academy playground and soccer field returned to normalcy on Monday with children playing and residents enjoying another warm summer afternoon.

"I heard the police coming. I heard the sirens, and then, the ambulance coming," said neighbor Sharon Neuman.

At the time of the shooting, Neuman was packing up a moving truck with a young man who is good friends with the 17-year-old shooting victim. He told Neuman the boy was robbed.

"The person came up to him and said, 'give me whatever.' Just wanted everything, and he said 'no.' As soon as he said 'no,' he got shot," Neuman said.

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A mother who was at the playground with her young kids witnessed the incident. She says the shooter was a young teenager. The mother did not want to identified as she explained the terrifying incident.

"He grabbed the gun from a fanny pack and just shot him, and the guy who got shot was like, 'please don't shoot me,' and he shot him," she said.

Police say the shooter was on an electric scooter and fled the scene before officers arrived. The witness thought the shooting was over a soccer game dispute, but police say the motive appears to be a robbery.

The West Ridge neighborhood is known for its diverse ethnic groups with many families. The school playground has always been a popular place for neighbors to gather.

While police continue to look for the shooter, the 17-year-old victim remains at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.

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