Tyshawn Lee murder: Chicago police arrest man

McCarthy said two other men, included one jailed on an unrelated gun charge, also were suspected of involvement in the death of Tyshawn Lee, who was shot in the middle of the afternoon near his grandmother’s house.

Even for a city accustomed to gun violence, Tyshawn Lee’s shooting was beyond the pale.

McCarthy said police are still unraveling what roles each of the three suspects played in Tyshawn’s slaying.

At one point, Morgan and one of the other men drove away in a black SUV while the third suspect stayed in the park, according to the prosecutor. McCarthy didn’t name one, who is in custody on an unrelated charge; the other, Kevin Edwards, is at large.

Court documents paint a disturbing picture of the planned attack, explaining that Morgan and his accomplices allegedly saw Tyshawn playing on the swings in a playlot with his basketball beside him.

The Chicago Tribune was the first to interview Tyshawn’s father, Pierre Stokes, after his son was killed.

Tyshawn was lured into an alleyway earlier this month and shot execution-style in the head and back, police said.

Police said the death could be attributed to two gangs fighting and retaliating against one another for months. “This was very clearly not a case of “no-snitching” but there was a lot of fear”.

Chicago began being called the murder capital of the United States after it registered 503 homicides in 2012, more than any other city.

Corey Morgan, who was addressed as a “man of enthusiasm” for the situation a week ago, was captured and in police care.

“They’re going to be obliterated”, he added.

Police had questioned Morgan two days after Tyshawn’s killing but released him.

“It’s just a matter of when and quite frankly in a heinous crime like this he’s probably better off if we catch him than somebody else”, said McCarthy. “Tyshawn Lee was failed on many, many levels”. “You get rid of that element”, he said.

Guglielmi did not provide further details on the arrest, but said police would have a formal announcement later Friday.

“When we solve this case”, he said, “we’re going to find an individual with an extensive, violent criminal history who likely should not have been on the streets”.

The police chief said the gang that investigators believe is behind the murder “just signed its own death warrant”. Morgan was able to post the required ten-percent of the bond, after his girlfriend put up $100,000 from a settlement she won in a lawsuit against a hospital.