Four teens were charged and three more are being sought in the fatal beating of honor student Derrion Albert, who police said “unknowingly walked in the path” of his death last week.
Four teens were charged and three more are being sought in the fatal beating of honor student Derrion Albert, who police said “unknowingly walked in the path” of his death last week.
Albert, a 16-year-old student at Fenger High School, was pummeled to death by several other teens Sept. 24 near a vacant lot adjacent to the Agape Community Center in the 300 block of West 111th Street. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and died a few hours later, police said.
As the teen headed to the bus stop after school to go home, he “unknowingly walked into the path of a fight involving two large groups of people,” police said.
The massive brawl, involving more than 30 individuals, according to an amateur video of the incident that was first given to a local news outlet before being turned over to police, started as part of an ongoing conflict between Fenger students from the Altgeld Gardens public housing community and students and residents from an area near the high school.
“My grandson was not involved in any gang activity. He was an innocent bystander. He went to church, went to school and got good grades,” said Joseph Walker, Albert’s grandfather.
A tearful Anjanette Albert, the boy’s mother, often held her head low during a vigil Monday held outside the school. A few blocks away, a makeshift memorial that had been set up at the crime scene had been burned, police said.
In the wake of the attack, a few parents have expressed desires to transfer their children from Fenger.
Since the high school is the neighborhood school for the students, a transfer wouldn’t be easy, considering enrollment to area charter schools is now closed for the school year, according to Monique Bond, spokeswoman for Chicago Public Schools.
“At this point, they would need to meet with the principal to discuss the options,” said Bond.
Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said the community’s help is needed in identifying three additional suspects sought in Albert’s death.
The “code of silence” must cease, said Weis.
“This is not the time for such (code of) silence. This is also not the time for retaliation. We understand the anger, but it will lead to more victims…more funerals,” Weis said Tuesday at a news conference.
Police say the fight was related to a shooting outside the school earlier that morning. No one was injured. A 15- year-old boy who allegedly approached a group of students on a corner near the school and opened fire was arrested, police said.
Former Carver High School students from Altgeld were transferred to Fenger as a result of their neighborhood school being transformed into a military academy. About 350 high school students from Altgeld are bused daily to Fenger.
Bond acknowledged there have been conflicts at the school between the groups, and stressed that Fenger’s principal, William Johnson, followed proper protocol by reporting the concerns to the police department.
In the wake of the incident, police patrols were beefed up at the school and at nearby Chicago Transit Authority bus stops. The increased presence will be there as long as necessary, Weis said Tuesday at the news conference.
The school issued a letter to Fenger parents Monday about the incident. When an incident occurs, especially on school grounds, including health concerns, the procedure is to notify the parents, Bond said.
“The unfortunate fight happened Thursday after school and school was not in session on Friday. Monday was the first chance we had to send a notice home to the parents,” Bond told the Defender.
Four teens – Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Bailey, 18, Eugene Riley, 18 and Eric Carson, 16 – were charged Monday with first-degree murder in the fatal beating of Albert. All were charged as adults and ordered held without bond, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
All were enrolled in Fenger except Riley, according to Bond.
According to prosecutors, after Carson struck Albert with the railroad tie, Bailey delivered a “knockout punch” that rendered the teen unconscious. Once he came to,
Riley hit him with a board. While Albert was on the ground, Shannon repeatedly stomped on his head.
The video helped police identify the four suspects and is constantly being reviewed to identify at least three others involved in Albert’s death, Weis said.
“I’m glad there was a video because it brought four people to justice. But we still need the community’s help. People know who they are,” Weis said.
The police superintendent also addressed allegations that a squad car near the scene did not respond to the melee. A formal complaint had been filed, Weis learned on Monday.
The matter is under investigation, he said.
Weis added the department is considering seeking charges against others who “did not come in contact” with Albert but just stood by.
Shannon and Riley gave videotaped confessions about their part in the fatal brawl, prosecutors said. Neither has a criminal background and both held part-time jobs. Carson is currently on a two-year probation for a robbery last year.
Services for Derrion Albert are pending.
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