14-year-old Melvin James shot to death just blocks away from his home in South Chicago

The first day of school turned out to be the last for a popular South Side boy when Melvin Jameswas fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in the South Chicago neighborhood.

At 5:02 p.m., the 14-year-old was standing on the sidewalk in the 8000 block of South Manistee, according to Chicago Police.

Another person walked up to him, pulled out a weapon, and fired shots, police said.

Melvin suffered gunshot wounds to the abdomen and left leg. He was taken Comer Children’s Hospital, where he died at 2 a.m. Wednesday, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

He lived just a couple of blocks away in the same neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

Police believe the shooting was gang-related. Family members said Melvin was never in a gang, but the A and B student had been harassed by gang members in the neighborhood.

A popular boy, Melvin was known for working around the neighborhood and rescuing stray animals, friends said.

No one was in custody as of Thursday morning.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

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