14-YEAR-OLD SLAIN IN ENGLEWOOD HAD ‘SO MUCH MORE LIFE TO LIVE’
It didn’t take long for the family of Vernado Jones Jr. to figure out that the boy was “already amazing.”
When his mother brought him home after his birth, the newborn was sporting a full head of hair. His aunt said he “looked like Samson,” the Biblical figure who drew superhuman strength from his long hair.
He had a bright future, too. The 14-year-old was set to attend the perennial basketball powerhouse Simeon Career Academy in the fall, but “he didn’t even get a chance to step into the front door.”
“He was going to be our great basketball star,” his aunt, Nancy Wardlaw-Williams, said Tuesday. “I told him, ‘I’m waiting on my NBA tickets.’ ”
Jones was one of eight people shot near 61st and Carpenter shortly after 11:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July. The teen was one of four killed. Two boys, 11 and 15, were among the other four wounded. No arrests have been made in the shooting, and family members and supporters pleaded for anyone with information to come forward to police.
“Vernado was a wonderful kid. He had so much more life to live. So much more life to live,” Wardlaw-Williams added. “And we’re deeply hurt. The entire family is deeply hurt.”
As she spoke to reporters during a rally to support her and other members of Jones’ family, WardlawWilliams held a sign that read: “Do Black Lives Really Matter?!!! Stop Killing Our Kids!”
While gun violence in Chicago spikes during the summer months, the city has seen a rash of shootings in recent weeks that have left young children dead or wounded.
In fact, at least two children have been shot to death in Chicago during each of the last three weekends.
A few hours before Jones was killed, 7-year-old Natalia Wallace was fatally shot while at a Fourth of July party at her grandmother’s house in Austin. One man has been charged in her death, though police said they’re still searching for three more suspects. No arrests have been made in Jones’ death.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Monday that both shootings were the byproducts of existing gang feuds.