Boy, 15, charged in fatal suburban shooting

Charges were filed against a 15-year-old boy suspected in the fatal shooting of another teen Sunday in southwest suburban Joliet.

Officers responding to reports of shots fired about 6:15 a.m. found a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound inside a vehicle near Elwood Avenue and Creed Street, according to a statement from Joliet police. He was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet before being airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

He was pronounced dead at Loyola at 1:32 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. His identity has not yet been released.

Initial reports indicated the shots were fired in the 600 block of Chase Avenue, a few blocks from where the boy was found, police said. A home on that block had been hit by gunfire.

Investigators found a loaded firearm and arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the shooting, police said. The teen is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, defacing identifying marks on a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition and use of a weapon without a FOID card.

Additional charges may be filed against him, as the victim was still alive at the time of his arrest, according to police.

Police said the case is "an ongoing investigation and is still in its early stages."

Authorities are asking anyone with surveillance video recorded between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. Sunday in an area bordered by Collins Street, the Canadian National railyard, Williamson Avenue and Jackson Street to call Detective Michael Cagle at 815-724-3035 or the Joliet Police Investigation Unit at 815-724-3020.