A 16-year-old Illinois boy shot and killed Friday night in Chicago was the grandson of a prominent community activist, according to family.
His grandfather said he is now making the same appeal he’s made for other victims, asking the community to turn in the killer.
An honor roll student, Hood was quick on the basketball court as he was with a laugh.
“Smart, sweet, funny, make you laugh, straight to the point. He’s a jokester,” said his grandfather Rev. Robin Hood.
Rev. Hood is a longtime West Side pastor and activist.
“It’s heartbreaking. We’ve always felt like our children should bury us,” said Hood.
At around 10:15 p.m. Friday, Ra-Shaun was shot in the chest and killed near 81st and Racine. Police said they found him on a sidewalk.
He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Rev. Hood says the family was unaware of any trouble and knew of no one who’d want to harm Ra-Shaun.
“We don’t know the purpose, said Hood. “We don’t know, you know, had they engaged anybody?”
For 25 years, Hood has fought to reduce violence and has seen one tragedy after another.
But he said the death of his grandson cuts deep.
“The good thing about this is you still feel pain,” said Hood. “The bad thing is when you stop feeling pain because then you have been sucked into this epidemic of violence.”
Police say no one is in custody in Ra-Shaun’s murder. Hood said there are businesses in the area where he was shot, and he’s hoping surveillance video can offer clues.
“We have to tell on the killers. We have to tell. You can’t let killers walk among us,” pleaded Hood.
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