Teen Shot Dead Days After Performing at Inauguration

Hadiya Pendleton murdered in Chicago park
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 30, 2013 10:46 AM CST
Teen Shot Dead Days After Performing at Inauguration
   (Shutterstock)

Little more than a week ago, Hadiya Pendleton was performing with the King College Prep band and drill team at President Obama's inauguration. Yesterday she was killed, shot in a Chicago park while hanging out with her friends after getting out of school early. Hadiya, 15, was with a group of about 10 other teens who moved under a canopy when it started raining. Police say a male jumped a fence and ran toward them, shooting, before driving off. A 16-year-old boy was also injured.

Most of the people in the South Side park at the time were gang members, the Chicago Tribune reports, and most of Hadiya's group scattered after the shooting. The teens are not cooperating with police, and the suspect is still at large. The homicide was one of 42 in Chicago so far this month, the Tribune adds, making it the worst January for homicides since 2002—with two days to go. More than 500 people were murdered in Chicago last year. (More murder stories.)

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