A Chicago mother is searching for answers after her 13-year-old son, she says, was jumped after leaving a Far South Side after-school program over the weekend.
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Major McLaurin was attacked and critically injured last Saturday as he left an After School Matters location at Gately Park, according to his mother and Chicago police. Now, as her son starts a long road to recovery, Tiffany Taylor is asking for his attackers, or anyone with information, to come forward.
“It didn’t even have (anything) to do with him,” Taylor told the Tribune this week. “He was there just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Police said a 13-year-old boy was in the 10200 block of South Cottage Avenue in the Pullman neighborhood when he was “battered” by several unknown suspects at around noon Saturday. He was transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, police said.
Taylor said her son stopped by After School Matters at Gately Park to lend his support to a friend who had an interview that day for a position at the nonprofit.
In video clips of the incident viewed by the Tribune, several people can be seen slapping and kicking a boy lying still on the ground in a salmon colored sweatshirt. Taunts can be heard over the footage. In one of the clips, someone repeats: “You be dissin’ right?”
After School Matters, in a statement, confirmed it was aware of the incident but said that to the best of the nonprofit’s knowledge, the young people involved were not affiliated with its programming. After School Matters also stated that the incident took place across the street from its property at the Gately Park building.
“ASM security and staff were notified of the altercation taking place and immediately called the police, who responded quickly and attended to the young person who was attacked,” the nonprofit stated. “We send our thoughts and best wishes to this young person and sincerely hope he is recovering well.”
Taylor was asleep at home when the calls started to come through. She recalled getting woken up by McLaurin’s older brother, who told her he was on his way to the hospital. Taylor left to meet him there. When she arrived, McLaurin was unconscious.
“I was distraught,” she said.
Taylor was relieved when, on Tuesday, McLaurin got up and started talking, she said. But her son now faces months of recuperation ahead. McLaurin was moved to a rehab facility on Wednesday. The hope is to have him home within the next two weeks, but full recovery will take at least two to three months, Taylor said.
He sustained brain injuries and cannot see out of his right eye due to the bruising and swelling that the attack left, Taylor said. He’ll need to re-learn how to walk and talk, she added.
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“He’s just not hisself,” she said. “Not hisself at all.”
Nearly a year ago, a mother and her then 9-year-old son were hospitalized after they were attacked near a South Deering elementary school. The November 2025 attack rattled parents and gained attention from City Hall.
As of Thursday afternoon, police said there were no updates in the weekend attack and that investigations by Calumet Area detectives continued.
Taylor said she’s briefly spoken with her son about what happened since he woke up.
“He just keeps saying, ‘I been jumped. They left me,’” she said.