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Man charged in Chicago gang-related killing of 9-year-old

Tyshawn Lee was lured into an alley in the city’s South Side and shot dead because of his father’s gang ties, officers said at the time.

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Police say a man has been arrested and charged in the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee, officials said early Friday. Tyshawn was playing basketball in a playground with friends when at least one of the suspects showed up, struck up a conversation with the boy and others, and then lured him to an alley nearby. One of the men is in custody on an unrelated charge and a murder warrant is out for the third man, identified as Kevin Edwards, McCarthy said. He vowed that gang factions involved in the killing and the other retaliatory acts had signed their own ” death warrants”.

Watch his remarks above, via CNN.

Gangs battle over turf and the right to sell drugs in what’s known as the most risky neighborhood, Auburn-Gresham, where Tyshawn resided and was gunned down. The second suspect is believed to be in the area, McCarthy said.

Morgan had been “a person of interest” in the case.

“He’s definitely underground, he knows we’re looking for him, everybody knows we’re looking for him”, McCarthy said. He was arrested on an unrelated gun charge and was released on bond earlier this week.

But over time, McCarthy said, forensic evidence, witness identification and information developed from community members helped lead the police to the suspects.

Investigators said at least three people were involved in the killing, but it’s not clear yet who did what.

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

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

On Friday McCarthy called the shooting of the 9-year-old “an unfathomable crime” and “an assassination”.

McCarthy said the three men were all members of a gang. He also expressed frustration with police, saying investigators seemed more interested in him than in finding who shot Tyshawn.

“This was very clearly not a case of no snitching, but there was a lot of fear, which is completely understandable”, the superintendent said.

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Depending on who is doing the talking, McCarthy said it is still not clear what Morgan’s exact role was in Tyshawn’s murder. Morgan, 27, whose address was listed as in the 7800 block of South Hoyne, was arrested after he left a Hilton hotel near 95th Street in Oak Lawn, authorities say. He was arrested and charged in June 2014 with unlawful use of a weapon, but has pleaded not guilty to that charge.

Chicago Man Arrested and Charged for Killing 9-Year-Old Tyshawn Lee