Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Teen Killed At Laurie's Pizza Overnight

Very sad news to end the long weekend.  A 14 13-year-old boy from West Rogers Park was eating with his sister and a friend inside Laurie's Pizza at Foster and Broadway around 2:30 this morning when someone outside fired shots into the restaurant, which struck and killed him.

The victim was Ivan Alanis of the 7400 block of North Western Avenue.  No one is in custody.  Police said the shooting may be gang-related.

We remember from college days that Laurie's is open really late most nights, so it's not unusual to hear about people eating there in the wee hours.  What is unusual is hearing about shootings in that part of Uptown, right on the border with Edgewater.  Makes us wonder if Rogers Park's recent gang activity is spilling over into Uptown (given the victim's home address) or if it was a case of mistaken identity.

In any case, a very sad turn of events.  Our sympathies to the boy's family and friends, particularly those who were there and had to see it happen.

Coverage in the Edgeville Buzz, the Tribune, and CBS 2.

Update:  The Tribune has more information"At a press conference, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said several people were being questioned in the shooting.  'I don't know about the actual business. But I do know that unfortunately, that young man had two separate gang affiliations,' McCarthy said. 'So at this point, it looks like it's gang-related. Obviously, (its) very early in the investigation...We actually have offenders in custody. They have not been charged yet, so we'll have a clearer picture very shortly on that case.'"  In the story, the young man's family denies he was affiliated with any gangs.

31 comments:

  1. Is school out yet? I find it rather strange that he's out at 2:30am. Regardless, a sad story all around.

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  2. Don't know if this had anything to do with this, but yesterday there was 2 groups of kids, 12-14 years old down by Target on Sunnyside and Broadway. The two groups kep yelling back and forth trying to instigate a fight. Maybe it's just coincidence that a bunch of young kids were fighting and hours later a 13-14 year old gets shot.

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  3. It may be unusual for gang activity in that area but I know from people that live in Rogers Park that gang activity is way worse then the surrounding neighborhood areas that run into Uptown. Summer is here and you will start to see gangs in full force fighting over drug turf. This is just a fact of life living in Chicago.

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  4. It is sad. Aren't the curfew hours for minors still 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays?

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  5. And now the Trib is reporting that the victim had affiliations with two gangs. Nice.

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  6. Kevin, curfew is for unaccompanied minors. This boy with with an adult family member. He was not in violation of the curfew laws.

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  7. Emma, The kid may have had gang "affiliations" but at age 13, is that really all we can chalk it up to? Does that justify a 13 year old child getting murdered?
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    Too many times the term "affiliation" is used by politicians and police as a way to justify or even imply that it was deserved. The fact is if you grow up in a Chicago neighborhood chances are some of your childhood friends will become involved with gangs. Does that make you affiliated? Is that enough to say they got what they deserved? I am glad I wasn't held to anything I said or thought at age 13.

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  8. Under much pressure and criticism, The Trib is - finally - reporting "whole" stories.

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  9. @Interested Observer... You can make all the excuses in the world, but the bottom line is that for the most part, anyone who is out at that time of night on a weekday is up to no good, and having any kind of gang affiliation could cost you your life. These guys aren't exactly known for qualifying their targets before opening fire, so if this kid has been seen hanging around with rival gang members, then he is seen as a rival gang member.
    It doesn't have anything to do with anyone deserving anything, it's just the hard, cruel facts of life and death in that culture of violence. If the kid had been at home in bed where he should have been, he would be alive today.

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  10. Observer, I agree that the term "affliated" is loosely used and police and reporters should use better descriptions when talking about victims... however, I also find it hard to believe that any gangs even exist when no person is "gang affliated" (note the sarcasm) as quoted by their parents/friends.
    The death of a 13yo is a horrible thing however I also believe that we should call a spade a spade. By not acknowledging the fact that people are gang members we're brushing the issue under the carpet when we should be holding people responsible for their actions.
    I obviously don't think this kid deserved to die for his "affiliations"; I do think that if he was in a gang his parents and friends should own up to it and then make a case for other youngsters that nothing good comes of it.

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  11. Laurie's has been a known drug den for a long time...place is banger central

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  12. So if the boy was out with an adult family member, than why is the adult family member taking a 13year old out for pizza at 230am?
    Thats bad judgement on the adult family member's part.

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  13. Just what is the definition of "gang affiliation"? Eating in a pizza joint at 2am? Can a 7th/8th grader really be defined as having gang affiliation? They can't even stay out after curfew at 13. Although I will fight to rid gangs out of my area. I hope the newspaper has its proof of such a statement for a child who was murdered last night. At this point its sounds like "witch hunting."

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  14. Okay sure he was with two adults so he was not in violation of curfew. Real question is why those adults would bring a 13 year old to a 4am liquor establishment.

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  15. IO, no one deserves to get murdered. However, no 13 year old kid should be out at 2am on a school night, with or without an adult.

    I hear about a young kid getting shot in the head and it doesn't make sense. When I later hear there's a possible gang connection to this, the pieces to this puzzle start coming together.

    Clearly, work needs to be focused on getting kids out of gangs or never joining them in the first place. Ignoring the possibility that he was in a gang is just putting our heads in the sand and pretending nothing ever happened.

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  16. It is simple, if the parents were doing their job, there would be NO WAY that a child that age should be out at 2:30 in the morning, PERIOD.. no excuses, dont try to say anything that rationalizes it...there is no reason, nada, that a 13 or 14 year old should be out that late. I hope DCFS does a follow up with those raising the child and look into the living conditions of any other children in that household..

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  17. I have to agree with Alberto. However, even if he was "associated" with gangs he was still a child at 13.

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  18. Thank you for the responses for the most part I agree with them.

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  19. @interested observer - if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck and walks like a duck. It's most likely a duck. No sympathy, his parents should be strung out to dry as well.

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  20. Do 'ya think that precious youn'un was going to make it to school on time in the mornin'?

    'Course not.

    When there is no structure to make parents responsible for getting their children to school, this is what we get.

    Way back in the stone-age, when I was a child, parental guilt trips were a standard technique utilized to gain youthful cooperation.

    Imagine something like this, "Hey, if you don't go to school, we are all going to get booted from our subsidized housing, welfare, food stamps, etc. You will put us all out on the street."

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  21. I was speaking about the term "affiliated" itself. I know knothing of the kid or his history. My question is what does affiliation mean? Was he a gangbanger or not? The second you have a moment of dialogue with a gang member does that make one affiliated? What is the threshold? It is so easy to just toss it out there and try to deflect how tragic our culture of violence is and in a way take attention away from the actual murderer.
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    Looks and talks like a duck? Wow, how deep. So how do you distinguish minority 13 year old gang members from the non affiliated? Oh, you can tell by just looking at them and hearing them speak. Well where have you been the police could use your help? You must have a solution to go along with such a thoughtful contribution.
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    I am repulsed by the gangbangers as much as anyone. Although it is hard to believe, some times these kids get killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Doesn't always make them affiliated. Again I don't know if this kid was or wasn't just saying.

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  22. I think blaming parents in general is fair game. Especially with late night shootings where they should be indoors for certain. But it seems we want to blame 13 year old kids who really were just raised wrong. So at age 10 it's a tragic story but at age 13 they can be condemned as gangbangers without any hard evidence? So what happened along the way from age 10 to 13 that we lose our outrage?

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  23. Before we throw the parents of a murdered 13 year old boy under the bus let us kindly think of the grandparents aunts and uncles as well as the siblings. Or of the others who knew him and are now in a state of shock and grief.

    Are they all gang members too by...association?

    Let us please have respect for what we do not know about the 13 year old boy name Ivan.

    The public branding of this murdered child so fast in the media by our top cop was tasteless and gratuitous in my opinion. A media saviness, but why? To make us feel safer...just a gangbanger....the "other"?

    Not random, not your kid, not someone you love...was that the message?

    Did McCarthy's statement to the media help in the investigation?

    Your all welcome to disagree I respect that.

    God Bless and Peace to the family

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  24. I guess mum is so much shocked - she sent her son to school but he didn`t come back.. It`s terrible. i wish the killer was in custody as soon as possible.

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  25. Rogers Park/West Ridge gang violence spills over into other neighborhoods.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-man-charged-with-fatally-shooting-boy-as-he-ate-pizza-20120530,0,2327111.story

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  26. If the kid was in a gang, I want that information out because it sends a message to other parents that they need to be concerned if they see any signs of their kid wanting to join a gang.

    From more newspaper accounts, it appears very likely that McCarthy was right about this kid being in a gang. I have my doubts that the Police Superintendent would say this to the press unless he had some serious evidence to back his claim.

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  27. of course he was in a gang and lol @ the eating pizza comments...no one goes there to eat pizza...especially at 2 am. This was a typical gang related narco killing.

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  28. LAU, LOL! Bleeding hearts never cease to amaze me. I fully support the top cop and his comments were right on the mark. This little 13 year old angel out "eating pizza" at 2:30am on a school night in a place known in the hood as "banger central" was certainly "affiliated" enough to get shot in the face.

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  29. @ Hurlyburley

    When your finish LOL-ing please elaborate why you needed to hear this 13 yo was a gangbanger.

    How hardened and deserving of a violent death can a 13 yo be? Affiliated with not one but 2 gangs...right, what an effing joke. I may be a bleeding heart but at least I have the guts to speak I my own name.

    Was this a little Tony Soprano or a Jeff Fort at 13? At what point do we draw the line between a full-fledged gang member and an exploited child...in this case a murdered child?

    If the life of a kid is worth less after midnight...sad sad sad. By the way school is out tough guy...

    Are you not entertained?

    LOL at the death of a child.....kiss my ass...

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  30. Haven't been to Laurie's in a long time...but I remember back in the 80's they made really good pizza. So sad on so many levels.

    I'd really be interested in hearing the kid's parents' side of the story re: having the kid out in the early morning on a school night.

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  31. It looks to me as though most of you have never had the experience of living around 13-year old gangbangers...they aren't exactly "poor little kids", and while parents have a lot to do with how their kids turn out, don't forget that their kids get influenced by the people they have no choice to be around. And once they get to 10 or 12, their behavior is pretty well established. For example, a couple of neighbors who were sweet little 8-year olds a few years ago are now 13-year old gangbangers who let all their buddies into their mother's and step-father's home...and when mom and step-dad objected, step-dad was beaten up, tortured, and intimidated by the gang. If the kids were removed (which we know from experience rarely if ever happens), they stay in juvenile for a few months and get sent home again--more aggressive than ever--to continue unabated. So, what do you geniuses suggest be done to fix these problems, and what will you do to see to it that it happens? All the calls in the world to 911 and DCFS and landlords--and yes, to the Alderman's office--do no good, since the system gets played so much that it's absurd.

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