Chicago police on Friday were questioning a 55-year-old man who allegedly said he was defending himself in connection with the shooting of two teen boys Thursday evening in Douglass Park. One of the boys, 15, was killed, police said; the other was seriously wounded.
Police arrived at the West Side Park around 7 p.m. and found the man kneeling on the ground with a gun by his knee among a large crowd on a basketball court, according to a police report.
Witnesses said the two boys approached the man as part of a group as he was fixing his bike near the park fieldhouse and that the man took a gun out of his backpack and fired two shots, per the police report.
One of the boys, 14, was shot in the neck and taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition, police said. The older boy was shot in the lower right back and was pronounced dead around 7:40 p.m., authorities said.
The alleged shooter told police he had fired in self-defense and that the boys had attacked and followed him, the police report said, and claimed he was licensed to carry a gun. The man has a valid FOID card and concealed carry license, according to police sources.
The teen had not been identified as of Friday, and no charges had been announced. Area Four detectives were investigating.