Congressman Danny Davis’ grandson was shot to death inside his family home Englewood Friday evening. | Daniel Brown/Sun-Times Wire
Javon Wilson, the teenage grandson of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, was shot to death over what police called an arugment over sneakers in his Englewood home Friday evening.
The shooting happened about 6:45 p.m. in the 5600 block of South Princeton, according to Chicago Police.
Wilson, 14, was inside his home when two people broke in, started arguing with the boy and then shot him in the head, according to a statement from the congressman.
He was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:32 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
According to Davis, the two people who broke in were a 17-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy who pulled a gun.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis
“I grieve for my family,” Davis said. “I grieve for the young man who pulled the trigger. I grieve for his family, his parents, his friends, some of whom will never see him again.”
Wilson’s mother had just left to pick up food before the shooting, leaving the boy with his two brothers, ages 8 and 14; his 16-year-old sister, and an uncle, Davis said.
“What could have prevented this tragedy? Better education, more supervision after school activity. Better parenting,” said Davis, who was re-elected earlier this month to his 11th term in Congress.
Police have identified a person of interest in the shooting, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a Tweet on Saturday morning.
He said the shooting was not random and was not the result of a home invasion. He said there was a “history” between the teens involved, and the shooting stemmed from a dispute about gym shoes.
U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark of New York sent condolences to the family, saying on Facebook she was “heartbroken” by the news.
“Let us rededicate ourselves to ending this senseless gun violence by passing gun control laws that keep firearms away from our families and children.” Clark wrote.
Davis said Wilson, a sophomore at Perspectives Charter High School, was a “typical” 14-year-old who liked music and basketball, and “knew all … the stats of different players.”
The Rev. Ira Acree, a South Side anti-violence activist, sent condolences to the family on Facebook, adding, “The genocide continues! We must demand an end to the madness, that has so many living in fear! …… You can’t police self-hatred and you can’t legislate love…..The onus is now on us.”
No one was in custody Saturday morning as Area South detectives investigate.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire, Chicago Sun-Times and Homicide Watch Chicago