The front doors of a South Shore school were boarded up after a student was gunned down outside the building Tuesday morning.
Plywood covered the doors, shattered glass lined the sidewalk, and bullet holes marked the walls of Safe Achieve Academy, 7877 S. Coles Ave. on Wednesday where 16-year-old Kenyae Franklin was shot to death.
Franklin was seen running south on the 7800 block of South Coles Avenue when three gunmen exited a white Range Rover, ran toward the victim, and began shooting about 9:15 a.m., Chicago police said. The teen was shot outside the front doors of the school,
After the attack, the three jumped back into the Range Rover and sped away.
Franklin was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. An autopsy determined Franklin died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Chicago Public Schools board member Che Rhymefest Smith said during an unrelated board meeting Wednesday that he met Franklin during a tour of the school last month Smith said he went back when he heard the boy had been killed while running to safety.
“Yesterday I had to visit a community where a student was unfortunately shot and killed as he was running to the safest place that he knew to get away from his attacker, and the safest place that he knew to run was his school,” Smith said during the meeting.
“And this student was a student that gave me earlier in the year a tour of his school, and the thing that he loved most about his school was the gardening program that taught him how to grow his own food.”
The student said the gardening program changed his life, according to Smith.
“We are a close-knit school community, and this loss is deeply felt by all,” the school said in a statement.
Safe Achieve Academy, which is part of the SAFE School program, supports middle and high school students referred by the Chicago Public Schools due to behavioral challenges, according to their website.
School officials said they placed the school on lockdown after the shooting to protect students and staff.
“Our first priority, every day, is the safety and well-being of our students and staff. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of our student during this very difficult time,” the school said.
Police recovered several rifle rounds and 9mm rounds, according to the report which said the Range Rover was later found in an alley, set on fire, in the 7800 block of South Paxton Street.
No arrests have been made.
Contributing: Emmanuel Camarillo