CHICAGO — A 9-year-old boy who was injured in a shooting in North Lawndale over the weekend is speaking out.
Lavarray Tate said he was playing with his cousin and some other friends outside of his aunt’s house, in the 1500 block of South Sawyer Avenue, on Saturday night when the gunshots rang out.
“We were all playing until somebody came out of nowhere, shot three times,” Tate said. “The first shot hit me in my leg and the other two shots missed. So I ran and I found a retired cop and he called 911.”
Authorities rushed to the home and quickly transported Tate, who had suffered a gunshot wound to his right ankle, to Stroger Hospital.
Luckily, less than a week later, he is back on his feet walking.
But, despite his quick recovery, anti-violence advocates and family members say the senseless shootings must stop.
“This young man has been traumatized with the terror of violence in our community,” Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef said.
“I’m not sure what we can do, but I know what need to come together for these children because they all deserve to grow up,” Tate’s mother Raven Brown said.
It remains unclear where the shots came from or who fired them, but Tate’s mother said she is grateful that it was not any worse.
“This violence that’s going on against children is just sad and it’s sickening, I’m so grateful by the grace of God that my son was able to make it out of this situation because it truly could have been worse,” Brown said.
An investigation into the shooting continues and police say no arrests have been made.
Tate’s family members have started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with medical expenses.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251 or dial 911.
Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously.
