By JORDAN OWEN AND DANIEL BROWN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Chicago Police investigate the site where twin brothers were fatally shot early Sunday in the 1300 block of North Hudson. | Network Video Productions
Twin 17-year-old brothers Edwin Bryant and Edward Bryant were killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday in Old Town.
The teens were standing outside about 3:15 a.m. in the 1300 block of North Hudson when a dark-colored vehicle drove by and someone inside opened fire, according to Chicago Police.
Edwin Bryant was shot in the chest and back, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and police.
Edward Bryant suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and head, and was also taken to Northwestern, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The fraternal twins were juniors at Marshall High School in the East Garfield Park neighborhood after transferring from Lincoln Park High School as freshmen, according to Edward’s youth basketball coach.
Edward (left) and Edwin Bryant | Facebook
Edward played basketball for Marshall and for the Chicago Demons, a youth basketball program in Old Town, according to Demons Coach Vince Carter. Edwin also played basketball until middle school.
Carter said Edward played on the Demons’ traveling team since 6th grade. Earlier this year, the Demons won the Bigfoot Classic in Houston and the Las Vegas Live tournament. About 30 teams competed in the tournament in Houston and about 75 in Las Vegas. “He was a big part of [those wins],” Carter said.
Standing 6-foot-5, Edward played forward and could dunk, Carter said. He “had a Kevin Durant look … and had been coming into his own in the last few years.” He probably would have played college basketball, and Division I college teams “were looking at him.”
“He played hard,” Carter said. “He loved basketball … but you had to push him to realize his potential.”
The brothers were two of four teens shot dead in Chicago over the weekend.
At a Monday press conference to discuss the weekend violence, Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said of the killing of the Bryant twins:” “We do have video footage of that incident. We’re making progress on it.
“The two brothers, as far as we could tell, they didn’t have any documented gang affiliation. But the individuals they were with did. So it’s possibly gang-related.”